Loves Worst Element
by Kassis-Cameron
Summary: What happens when all that you thought was the greatest, and it ends up you're dead wrong? What happens when your life is flipped upside-down, and you don't know who you are anymore? Well, you deal with it. How? No idea. Good luck, Kasiss Cameron...
1. Introduction

**Love's Worst Element**  
Introduction

"Kay, get up! You're going to miss your own birthday party!" my father shouted.

"Ugh! Too tired! Tell everyone to come later!" I yelled back.

"Now, Kasiss!" he replied. I groaned and rolled out of bed, padding to the bathroom in my pink fuzzy slippers. I took a cold shower and brushed my teeth while the flat iron was heating up. As I was drying my hair I heard my brother call me. "Caca! Caca!"

"Don't call me that, David!!!" I ran the iron over my wavy, brown hair. I pulled on some light jeans and a black spaghetti strap top and after nearly leaving the room, decided to take my hair back into a high ponytail. "Perfect…" I walked downstairs, noticing all of the balloons and streamers hung up in my honor. As I reached the first floor, I saw a banner hung up, blocking the entrance to the kitchen. It read 'LOVE YOU KASISS!!!' with stars and smiley faces drawn all over the white spaces. As I took a closer look, I noticed it was all drawings by David, and the writing was my dad's. I smiled slightly.

"I'm up!" There was no answer. "If you're trying to make this a surprise, it's too late!" It continued to be silent. There was a pop in the kitchen. I ducked under the banner and looked towards the kitchen counter. My blue eyes widened and welled up with tears. My chest was rising and falling deeply and quickly.

"Miss Cameron," someone said behind me. I turned quickly. "Allow me to introduce myself."

"Did you do this?" I asked, cutting off the man's words.

"As a matter of fact, I did not," the man said, his sad eyes twinkling behind his half moon glasses.

"Then who did?" I demanded.

"How about you come with me, I'll explain everything."

"No. If you have anything to explain, it's here."

"Your choice," he said. "My name is Albus Dumbledor. I'm the headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"Uh huh… I don't care!"

"Lord Voldemort came to your house a few minutes ago. I trust you know who he is?"

"Who doesn't?" I said snottily.

"He's the one that-"

"Yeah," I interrupted.

"Since you now don't have any guardianship and the school year starting in three weeks, you will attend Hogwarts, until then you will be staying with the Weasley's," Albus Dumbledor said.

"No! This is my home! I live here! My friends are here! I'm not leaving!" I shouted.

"I'm sorry. But at your father's wish, you must come to Hogwarts."

"Oh, well I guess if my dad wanted it, I must," I said sarcastically.

"I did not choose to have you come to Hogwarts. Your mother and father wanted it. I am simply carrying out their wishes."

"My…my mom?" I asked sadly.

"Yes, your mother."

"When do I leave?" I gave up. No matter how much I fought against it, my heart couldn't take going against my mom. And my dad, when I really thought about it.

"As soon as possible," Dumbledor said. I turned to grab some stuff, catching a glimpse of my brother's foot and my father's hand sticking out from behind the kitchen island.

"Could you, uh…" I said, stopping in my words. But Dumbledor seemed to know what I wanted to say. He nodded his head, and I left the room.

My bedroom seemed to be empty, though it was not. I shoved my lamp, books, and full glass of orange soda off of the trunk I used as a bedside table, giving them a nice, new place on the clean, white carpet now covered in broken glass and orange wet spots. I removed my underwear drawer and dumped its contents into the trunk, along with all of my socks. I scooped up the clothing from my other drawers and stuffed them messily into the trunk as well. My shoes were piled on top of the clothing, and on top of that were all my toiletries and make-up bags. I closed the lid of the trunk with some difficulty, picked up my oversized backpack and started filling that with a few of my books and all eight of my photo albums.

If my room seemed empty before, it looked like it wasn't even there now. If a giant boulder smashed the wall facing the outside world at this moment it wouldn't look much different. I took one last look at my room before shutting the door. I walked down the stairs for the second time that day, again looking at the birthday streamers and balloons. They didn't seem as cheery as they were earlier. They reminded me of my birthday, which I didn't want to think about anymore. I used to love my birthdays, but after this morning, I wished I wasn't born at all. I walked straight to the back door, leaving my heavy trunk by the stairs.

"Sammy!" I called through the open window. I turned to the cabinets over the washing machine and started filling a duffle bag with monthly medications, a few boxes of cookies, two spare collars, a spare leash, and a twenty pound bag of dog food. Just as I was zipping up the bag, there was a scratching noise. I opened the door to let my golden retriever into the house. "Hey, girley!" I attached the leash to her collar and led her out of the room, duffle over my shoulder.

"Ready," I said quietly. Dumbledor looked over at me, then down at my dog. At first he looked disapproving, but after a moment smiled slightly.

"I noticed you had a fireplace," Dumbledor said, his silvery hair and beard shining in the light. "Have you ever taken the Floo Network before?" I nodded my head. "So you will have no problem with your transportation." We started walking to the living room.

"One last thing. I'll be in there in a minute…" I stepped quietly to the kitchen, wrote a note on a sparkly pink napkin and taped it to the front door. I then carefully pulled the tape that was holding up my poster off the wall, folded up the long piece of paper and put it gently into my backpack, being extra careful as not to tear the thing. I dragged my things into the living room one by one, turning off the hallway light, feeling as if my light was being turned out too.


	2. Chapter 1

**Love's Worst Element**  
Chapter One- A Different Girl

A roomful of people were staring at me, the person that fell out of the fire. I was all covered in ashes and my hair was tangled up on top of my head, the hair tie was long missing. _This is my break. Kasiss, you're not shy. Nothing ever happened. You're a new person with a new life._

"Kasiss! Professor Dumbledor told me you'd be coming. So sorry about what's happened."

"I, uh… Th-th… My, uh…" I stuttered, just before feeling my knees collapse under me.

**Harry's POV**

The girl that had just come out of the fireplace was a nervous wreck, and when she fainted she just seemed to have more nerves. She was flinching on the ground, and her hand was flexing from an open palm to a closed fist. "Harry, be a dear and take her up to Percy's old room…" Mrs. Weasley requested, bending down to brush the hair of the girl's face. Harry walked over to Kasiss and picked her up bridal style. As he looked down on her, he saw a very beautiful teen. She had dark liner around her eyes, and it seemed to have leaked down her cheeks a little, like she had cried black tears.

Harry nudged open the door and walked into the completely bare room. There was an armoire, bed, side table, and a window, but other than that the walls were empty and the floor was open. Harry lay Kasiss gently on the bed. She stirred for a moment, opened her eyes a little and fixed her blue irises on the boy. "You look very… familiar…" she said airily. Harry looked quizzically down at Kasiss. "You're the guy that told me to… to… to not go into the… the circle…" Kasiss' voice faded and her eyes fluttered closed.

Curiosity swarmed over Harry, but he ignored the words and walked back downstairs. "So Harry, are we going to play Quidditch tomorrow?" Ron asked.

"Uh, yeah sure…" Harry said skeptically. Ron had just been asking Harry that when Kasiss had come in. It confused Harry that Ron was asking the same question, like the answer would have changed. Harry scratched his forehead subconsciously.

"Are you alright, Harry?" Hermione asked, her chocolate brown eyes looking at Harry sympathetically.

"I'm… fine?" Harry said quizzically.

"That didn't sound quite right…" Ron said.

"That girl is weird…" Harry admitted finally.

"What happened?" Hermione questioned.

"I put her on the bed and she started talking… sort of. She said she recognized me. And she said I was the guy that told her not to go in the circle."

"What circle?" the brunette asked.

"She didn't say. She just closed her eyes and continued being unconscious…"

"You're right. That is strange. We'll keep and eye on her," Hermione said. The rest of dinner was quiet between the trio, but every one else seemed to be going about their evening as if nobody had just come into the Weasley residence, nobody had fainted, and nobody had been asking strange questions. To everyone but Harry, Ron, and Hermione, there seemed to be no Kasiss.

**Kasiss' POV**

I opened my eyes, but instead of seeing my own room, I saw a little room with a tiny window and an armoire next to it, and when I turned to get out of bed, there was a bedside table with an alarm clock next to it. It all came back to me. The day before was my birthday, my horrible, wretched birthday. I hated being sixteen. This age sucked.

But then I remembered the agreement with myself. I'm going to be a new me. These people don't know the old me, so why should they? And why do they need to know that my brother and dad were just killed a little over twenty-four hours ago? They don't, I decided.

So with that finished, I put on a fresh pair of jeans and a black and white polka dotted halter top. I combed out my tangled hair and brushed my teeth. I looked at the clock. Five in the morning. What could I do at five in the morning? I looked out the window and my eyes filled with tears. The next two years were going to be hard. My heartbeat grew louder and my lips started moving. _"Playground school bell rings again. Rain clouds come to play again. Has no one told you she's not breathing? Hello, I am your mind giving you someone to talk to. Hello?"_ I didn't expect me to sing, and I didn't know where the music was coming from, but my mouth kept moving and my voice kept going. _"If I smile and don't believe, soon I know I'll wake from this dream. Don't try to fix me, I'm not broken. Hello, I am the lie, living for you so you can hide. Don't cry."_ There was someone coming towards the door. I quieted myself until the footsteps passed. _"Suddenly I know I'm not breathing. Hello? I'm still here, all that's left of yesterday."_ I wiped away my tears and checked for running mascara that was left on from yesterday's 'festivities'. No problems were found, and I proceeded to the door, heard some noise from downstairs, and walked out.

"Kasiss, you're up early," a red headed woman said, turning around from the stove.

"Well, don't expect the same thing much. I'm usually a late sleeper," I said with a small smile. "Do you want some help with that?" I asked, walking towards the stove.

"Oh, no thank you dear. Why don't you just sit down? You had a long day yesterday."

"Mrs. Weasley, that's you right?" Mrs. Weasley nodded. "Okay, I don't want anyone to know about that just yet. And I don't want to sound rude, but please don't take pity on me. I'll be fine."

"Whatever you want," she said. "And if you would like to help, you can stir the eggs." I smiled, picked up the spatula, and started flipping the scrambled eggs around.

"What in the world-?" Mrs. Weasley said, hearing a loud banging noise coming down the stairs. I turned to face what would come out of the hallway.

"CROOKSHANKS!" someone screeched. A big yellow dog ran to the door, pushed it open with her nose and ran out. I rushed to the door, opened it and chased after Sammy. Behind me there was a commotion, like someone was chasing me.

"SAMMY!" I yelled.

"CROOKSHANKS!" the person said behind me.

"SAMMY GO TO BED!" Sammy made a u-turn and ran back inside. I was breathing heavily, as I hadn't run in three months straight. I fell to my knees, then down to my elbows. I rolled over to look at the morning sky.

A cat jumped up onto my stomach and started pawing at my face. "Crookshanks!" the person said for a third time. A girl with bushy brown hair bent over me and picked up her scruffy looking cat. I started laughing. "What?"

"My dog has never looked so afraid in her life!" I said, rolling on the grass in a fit of laughter. "And it's because of your cat!"

"I'm sorry, I'm not seeing what's so funny."

"I know… I know… I'm sorry," I said, sobering myself. "Sorry." I stood up and wiped the grass off my back. "Anyways, hi. I'm Kasiss Cameron."

"Hermione Granger. I'm guessing that was your dog."

"No. I was just chasing after a dog that I've never seen before, and the name Sammy was the first thing that came to mind," I said sarcastically.

"Right, of course she's your dog. You're the only new person here…" Hermione said. There was silence walking back to the house. When we entered the kitchen there were five other people sitting at the table, all looking groggy and kind of mad.

"You're all up earlier than usual," Mrs. Weasley said, coming in from another room.

"Yes, well there was a strange banging on all of the doors and walls and floors. I just can't figure out who could have done that. Any idea Fred?" a boy said.

"None at all, George," said the first boy's twin. "Why don't we ask Hermione? Any thoughts Hermione?"

"Crookshanks was chasing Kasiss's dog!" Hermione started laughing. "Oh! I get it! I get why it's funny!" Hermione said through laughter. I also started laughing.

"Yes, it's so funny that we all get up at _five thirty in the morning!"_ another red head boy said.

"Then go back to bed!" a red head girl said, standing up from the table. "That's what I'm doing." She walked back up the stairs and I heard a door close quietly.

"We're going to the shop for a while. Be back later," said one of the twins. With a pop, they were gone.

"I'm going to read," Hermione said, going into the room Mrs. Weasley had just come out of.

"Harry, d'you want to go fly around for a bit?" the last red head boy left in the room said.

"Sure, why not," Harry said. The two boys walked up the stairs and I followed them, but when I reached my room, I walked in and sat on the bed. Sammy looked up from her doggie bed, looked down at her personal duffle bag, then back at me.

"Oh, I haven't fed you, have I?" I said, pulling out Sammy's food and water bowls. "Here you go," I said, filling her food bowl. I took the water dish and walked downstairs, closing the bedroom door behind me. When I reached the bottom, the red head and Harry were walking through the kitchen, brooms in hand. I gave a quiet snort of laughter, quickly restraining myself.

"What?" the red head said, turning around. I walked to the sink and started filling the dish.

"Nothing. It's just that when my friend Megan came here for Quidditch Camp she said that people here still used sucky, unreliable brooms. And she wasn't lying…" I replied.

"Not all brooms are unreliable!" the red head defended.

"You're right. Not all brooms are unreliable sometimes."

"So what do you expect people to fly with? Wings?"

"Look, all I'm saying is that there are better things out there than brooms. I'm not trying to argue about reliability. Now if you'll excuse me, my dog would like a refreshment." I walked back up the stairs and set the water on the floor. I changed into my work out clothes and went outside. Quidditch season was coming and I needed to be ready for it. Even if Hogwhatever didn't have a team, I wanted to keep myself fit for when I went back to New Jersey. But judging by the muscular figures the red head and Harry had, there was most likely a team.

I stretched out a little and walked down the stairs and into a room behind the kitchen. "Oh, Hermione. Hi. Okay, so I didn't want to sound rude and ask him myself, but Harry. Is that Harry Potter?"

"Yes. Why?"

"I just wanted to make sure. I mean, he's got the scar and everything. I just think it would be a good thing to know incase I said something that might offend him, not that I would do anything like that intentionally. Anyways," I said, pulling myself out of the awkward explanation. "One more question. The guy Harry's hanging out with, the red head, what's his name?"

"Ron?"

"I don't know, is it?"

Hermione took a deep breath and shut her book. "Alright, you know Mrs. Weasley, and you'll see Mr. Weasley some other time. The twins are Fred and George, but there's no way to tell them apart. Ron is the one that you've met that doesn't have a twin, and Ginny is the only Weasley daughter. Got it?"

"Yes, thanks. I'll let you get back to your reading." I walked out of the house, said hello to Mrs. Weasley, who was gardening, and jogged in a random direction. I eventually came to a little pond with a dock. Next to the pond there was a hill with a weeping willow tree at it's top. I jogged up the hill and brushed under the drooping limbs of the tree. There was a bench built around the trunk with a perfect view of the house, the pond, and the homemade Quidditch field which Ron and Harry were flying around in.

I jogged back down the hill and walked along the little dock. When I reached the end, I took off my shoes and socks, dipping my feet in the lukewarm, bluish-black water.

I looked around to make sure no one was watching, and when no one was around, I pulled off my sweatshirt and sweatpants (careful not to drop my wand into the water), leaving only my skimpy, black bikini. I took a deep breath and dove into the water. It felt a lot colder when it covered my entire body, and after only a few laps from the dock to the other side of the pond I was shivering so hard I couldn't take a full stroke. I pulled myself onto the dock and lay in the sun until my pale skin was dried. I knew I would probably get a sunburn, but I didn't really care. I pulled on my clothes again and headed over to the Quidditch Pitch. Now there were four figures flying high above my head. "Mind if I join?!" I asked, shouting at the top of my lungs so I could be heard.

"What?!?" somebody called.

"I said!: MIND IF I JOIN?!?"

"What?!?" they said again.

I pulled out my wand and pointed it toward the house. "Accio TigerStride 2.0," I said. A moment later my magical flying thing was within my grasp. It wasn't really a broom. More like a pole with a comfortable bicycle seat on it. I mounted the TigerStride and rose to the level the boys were at. "Mind if I join?" I asked again.

"We'll have odd teams," Ron said.

"Oh."

"You could go ask Ginny if she'll play," Fred or George suggested.

"Alright. I will." I turned around and darted for the house. I opened all the doors on the stairs, not knowing which one Ginny would be in. "Oh, hey, Ginny," I said.

"Yes?"

"Well, Fred or George, not sure which, told me that you might play Quidditch with them."

"They don't usually like me playing. It's only because I beat them and I'm a girl, you know." I smiled.

"Well, does that mean we're on a team together? Because I feel the same way." Ginny smiled, snatched up her broom, and headed out the door.

"So you know how it is to live in a family with only guys?"

"Uh, I guess. There's only two though. But I was dating this guy at the all boys school across the street from my all girls school and sometimes we would have co-ed P.E. classes, so we would play guys against girls Quidditch, and the girls would always win, so my boyfriend totally hated me after each game because we hurt his pride. It was really funny. He would get all red in the face when he got hot during the game, but that was only his excuse. He was actually really, _really_ mad."

"That sounds very interesting. Lets hope that happens to the boys," she said with a devious smile. "Flying there?" Ginny asked.

"Of course. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can beat their- never mind…" I said.

"What?"

"Nah, you don't want to hear what I have to say about your brothers and Harry…" I said, hopping onto my TigerStride. Ginny still looked curious, but didn't say anything more. "Hey guys!" I said happily.

"Hey big brothers!" Ginny said, flying up between Fred and George.

"So guys, are we playing a game?" Ron asked.

"Three on three," one of the twins said.

"Oh! Me and Ginny are on a team together!" I shouted.

"I pick Harry!" Ron and a twin shouted simultaneously. "Ha! George's stuck on the girls team," Fred said.

"Ugh! This is so not fair!" George shouted.

"For who? The _other_ team?" I said competitively. "Puhlease! They're the one's that are going to be crying their little baby eyes out at the end of the game!"

"Kasiss, which position do you play?"

"Chaser or seeker."

"Chaser it is!" Harry called from across the field. This caused everyone around me to crack up laughing. I figured it was some crazy British thing, but then Ginny leaned over and said, "Harry's been seeker for six years, and he hasn't come across a decent female seeker _ever_."

"Ah, he's an anti-woman man. Wow, that sounded weird. Anyways, I shall prove to him that we woman can be stronger, faster, and better than men. Wow, that sounded weird too."

"Okay, Kasiss, you're seeker. Ginny, keeper and chaser. I'll be beater," George said quickly.

"Ready?" I called, pointing my wand at the box of balls. I chuckled a little. "Sorry. Dirty thought." The box opened and the Bludgers were released. The Quaffle raised up into the air and the Snitch came out of it's casing. The game began, and not after five minutes, I saw a speck of gold on the other side of the pitch and flew quickly, yet casually towards it as not to draw attention to myself. I reached out and grabbed the Snitch.

"Hi Harry," I said. With the closer look, I noticed Harry's famous scar. I also noticed that he had amazingly shocking green eyes.

"You're staring at me," Harry said.

"Right, sorry. Spacing out. Anyways, I noticed earlier that you preferred me to be chaser."

"Uh-"

"Well, anyways, I just wanted to let you know that I don't like it when men look down on me. To prove this fact about me, I'd like to show you something." I started laughing again. "Sorry, another dirty thought. Here you go. See it and weep." I showed Harry the Snitch, and his jaw dropped down sixty feet to the ground. "Hmm, sorry. I guess you seriously lucked out. Maybe next time Mister P."

I had no idea anyone would do this, but a moment later, Harry was darting downwards, then raced off to the house. I stared at him for a while, then Ginny came up next to me. "What just happened there?"

"I caught the snitch. I was sort of being a bitch. No idea I pissed him off that much, though."

"Well, he's sensitive these days."

"What happened?"

"Oh, uh… His godfather died. They were pretty close," Ginny said quietly. "Uh, don't tell him I told you though. You'd be better off not mentioning it at all actually."

"Right. Well, I better go apologize. Need some help with that Fred or George or whoever you are?"

"Fred, and no. I think I got it," Fred said through his teeth. He was wrestling with one of the Bludgers, and the ball was winning.

"Alright. Ron, need some help?" I asked sarcastically.

"Yes. This Quaffle is really quite heavy. Who knew?" Ron replied in the same sarcastic manor.

"Here's the Snitch," I said, placing the small chunk of gold in it's casing. "And I'll see y'all later." I darted toward the house and jogged up the stairs, tossed my TigerStride onto my bed, and continued ascending. I heard a noise on the top floor, so I knocked to see if that's where Harry was hiding.

"Yeah?" a man's voice said. I opened the door a smidge and saw Harry sitting on his bed. He didn't look very angry, so that was a good sign in my opinion.

"Hey," I said simply. "I'm sorry. I was being kind of a snob. I'm so competitive at times, and I guess it just got the best of me. God, I'm such a bitch."

"Where'd you learn to play like that?" Harry asked abruptly.

"My, uh, my mom was apparently really good. I suppose I take after her," I said sadly.

"Apparently? Have you ever seen her play?"

"No, uh, she died a couple years ago. I was…" I counted on my fingers. "I was, holy crap… How is that possible?" I asked myself.

"What?"

"I was eleven when she died because she died just after my brother was born, and he's five, so five years ago means I was eleven."

"Okay. What's so impossible about that?"

"The thing is, I don't remember anything about her. The most I know is a vague image and her Quidditch skills. Weird…"

And then it hit me. I had just said that my brother is five. But he's not five, he's _dead_. Tears filled my eyes. "I'm sorry, I have to go. There's some mascara in my eye."

"Oh, and you might want to change clothes," Harry said, believing your mascara thing.

"Why?" I asked, looking down at my sweats.

"You're… wet," he said simply.

"Oh, right. I went swimming." I rushed out of the room and slammed my bedroom door behind me. I threw myself onto the bed and started crying. My plan was not working. I was supposed to be happy. But I was sitting on a bed soaking my pillow. How was I supposed to have a new life if I was crying over the old one? I lifted my head off the pillow and wiped my eyes before sitting up. I gasped and said, "What the heck are you doing in here?"

"You were crying," Harry said.

"Good observation. Is that all?"

"And tears usually indicate being sad."

"Very intelligent philosophy you have there."

"And," Harry continued. "I've heard that if you tell someone about your life, you don't have to carry the weight alone."

"Well, I like the work out. Keeps my muscles nice and tight," I said sarcastically.

"Your choice," Harry said, walking out the door.

"Why do you want me to tell you?" I asked before he closed the door.

Harry paused and opened the door a little. "Because I'm sorta in the same position. See ya."

"Harry, I'll keep that in mind." Just then a searing pain spread from my collar bone down to my hip. I clutched my arms around my stomach and leaned forward, trying to suffocate the pain. I noticed that Harry had his hand pressed against his forehead, like he too was feeling this, then he quickly ran upstairs. "Oh my God!" I screamed. My eyes were now shut very tightly and I was holding my breath, rocking back and forth a little. I kept screaming "Oh my God!" over and over and over again. A hand rested on my shoulder and weight was placed on the bed.

"Kasiss," someone said, but I kept screaming. "Kasiss?!?"

"What?!?!? I'm a little busy!" I screamed.

The person put their arms around me and leaned me onto my back. "Kasiss, it's alright. You're gonna be fine." My breathing started going back to normal and the pain subsided.

"Ñih… Tylenol…" I groaned, getting out of bed and rummaging through my trunk. When I found the little bottle I popped back a pill and swallowed it. I rubbed my eyes and turned to see who the person was. "Oh my God…"


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Hey! So I just realized that I had posted Chapter One, then Chapter Three... *cough* Stupid account manager *cough* But oh well. It's all better now. :D Enjoy!

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**Love's Worst Element**

Chapter Two- Romeo and Juliet

He was standing in my room. He was standing in my room after fixing my pain. He was standing in my room after fixing my pain _and_ he wasn't leaving. "W-What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Well, the school gave me a choice. Go to Charles, or come to Hogwarts. And I thought hey, Hogwarts sounds different. So here I am."

"When did somebody tell you that I was coming here?" I asked, seeing right through his lie.

"Uh… I asked the acceptance people. They said you transferred to Hogwarts."

"Sooo… you're here," I said, walking towards the man.

"I'm here. Is this a good thing?"

"Ro. Please. This is amazing." Ro was inching closer to me. He was a little taller than me, had dark eyes and dark hair, and a strong looking face.

"Good…" Ro's lips were soft but his kiss was rough, and though we had broken up I was loving every minute of it.

"I'm sorry about my cousin's wedding. I never meant to-"

"Right. And I'm sorry I sprung-"

"Right." Silence. "So anyways, are you staying here?" I asked, changing the subject.

"No. I just thought I'd come say hi to you and my godparents."

"Right. The Weasley's and your parents go way back, huh? I forgot. So of course you're staying here."

"No. I'm not. I just said that. I'm staying at a hotel."

"But I thought you were being sarcastic! Why can't you stay here?" I whined, pulling on Ro's sweatshirt sleeve.

"Because they're a bit short of space if you hadn't noticed. Ron and Harry are in one room, Fred and George are in another, you're in this room, Ginny and Hermione are in the other room, and Molly already made Bill and Charlie's old room into something else."

"But-"

"Sorry."

"But- wait, do you _know_ everyone here?"

"Not Harry and Hermione personally. When I come to visit it's before those two get here. Why? Need help making new friends?"

"No, actually, I don't. I've decided that if I have to be with new people, I might as well better myself."

"Does bettering yourself include wearing sweats that are soaked at your boobs and ass?" Ro questioned.

"Oh shut up!" I said, smacking the back of his head. "If it's that important to you I'll change. Get out." Ro left the room and I locked the door behind him. I removed my sweats and wet bathing suit and replaced them with the jeans and halter I had worn before. "Shall we?" I asked, walking out the door.

"Do what?" Ro asked.

"I don't know. Do something." I linked elbows with his and proceeded down the stairs.

"How about we meet your new friends."

"First of all, they're not really my friends. And secondly, you already know them."

"But I want you to prove that _you_ know them and you're not just lying to me."

"I _just_ played Quidditch with them! Me and Ginny and George were on a team together and we beat the balls off of Harry and Ron and Fred."

"Oh, that was my other question. What did you do this morning to make your underwear wet?"

"I went running, and then I went swimming in the pond. In a _bathing suit_."

"You did _what_?" "What?"

"You _hate_ running!"

"No I don't. I hate running _under pressure_. But I didn't have any P.E. teachers telling me that if I didn't run I wouldn't be allowed to take three electives for the next year." Ro and I reached the bottom of the stairs and we saw that Mrs. Weasley was dishing up lunch.

"Would you two be dolls and go fetch everyone for lunch? They're still outside."

"No problem, Molly."

"Thank you dear." We walked out of the house and started toward the Quidditch field where Ginny, Ron, and the twins had started another game, two on two.

"Matt!" the four called, forgetting their game and descending to greet Ro. "You two know each other?" Ginny asked, giving Ro a hug.

"Yeah. I've mentioned her before. We dated?" Ro said. I smiled.

"You never said you dated Kasiss. You said you dated… uh, what was her name? Um… It's on the tip of my tongue! Uh… Julie! You said you were dating Julie last summer," Ginny replied.

I snorted back laughter. "What?" Ro and Ginny said in unison.

"The thought of you dating Julie." I curled over in my fit of laughter.

"Julie McBrian? The blond one? That _would_ be weird…" Ro said, chuckling a little himself.

"She's so stupid!" I took deep breaths to calm myself and finally managed to silence my laughter. "Sorry."

"Uh, no. Kasiss and I were in our school's Romeo and Juliet play, so we have nicknames. She's Julie and I'm Ro. Not too proud of it either."

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

"Anyways, your mom sent us out to tell you that lunch is ready," Ro said. The group started towards the house; Ro, Fred, George, and Ron in front chatting away, and me and Ginny behind them.

"So. How's it going?" I asked.

"Pretty good. You?"

"I'm fine." I didn't talk for a moment, then asked, "Okay, so even though I've known R- sorry, _Matt_ for a while, I can't find any of his peeves. But since you're kind of related to him in a way…"

"All I know is he hates being called Mattie," Ginny said, answering my question before I even finished it.

"Darn. That's all I know too."

"Well, he's going to school with us now, so we'll have much more time to find out. And even more if the two of you get into Gryffindoor. Did you know that everyone here is in that house? Or at least has been. Mum and dad were in Gryffindoor, and Fred and George would have been this year, but they dropped out and opened up their shop. 'Weasley's Wizard Wheezes'. I can't wait to see it. Anyways, so if you and Matt get into Gryffindoor, that would be amazing." Ginny was silent for the rest of the walk and we simply listened to the boys talk about Quidditch and maybe some random interjections about girls.

Lunch was fun. The Weasley's were all laughing with Ro, and even Bookworm Hermione was caught chuckling a little. But who was missing from the table? I looked around and deducted that Harry was still in his room. I stood up.

"Where ya goin' Julie?" Ro asked.

"I just have to check up on something. It'll just be a minute." I walked upstairs and knocked on the top door. Harry opened the door.

"Hi. Ya hungry? Lunch is going on downstairs," I said.

"Yeah, I figured. But I'm really not hungry."

"Are you sure? Because if it's just that you're too lazy to go downstairs and you're actually starving then I'll just get you something. I promise I won't put any arsenic in anything," I said with a laugh.

"I'm fine. Go hang out with your friend."

"If you insist…" I said, grinning from ear to ear. Harry closed the door and I sighed thinking _He's so effing sexxy!_

I walked back down to the table to find people cleaning up their dishes. I walked over to help.

"Hey, Julie, can I talk to you for a minute?" Ro asked.

"But of course," I replied, letting Ro take my hand and drag me into the living room. "Yes?" I asked.

"Did you transfer to Hogwarts because of me?" he asked.

"No, you silly boy! Would I be talking to you right now if you were the reason?"

"Well, no…" he said. "Then why did you leave? You didn't even tell anyone." I was silent for a moment, and I was looking down at my shoes. I pondered whether I should tell him or not for a moment.

"Yesterday morning-"

"Was your birthday."

"Shhh! Was my birthday. And I was going to have a party. And I was going to be with all my friends. And I was happy. But things… didn't go quite so well."

"What happened?"

"Shhh! When I got downstairs, Albus Dumbledore was in my kitchen. He told me that Lord Voldemort killed-" I started crying. "He killed Daddy… and David…" It was hard to talk now. "And Albus Dumbledore said that my parents wanted me to go to Hogwarts should something ever happen t-t-" Tears streamed down my cheeks and I could no longer say anything. Ro wrapped his arms around me and rocked me back and forth.

I must've fallen asleep because when I opened my eyes it was dark. I felt like I was moving, so I glanced around.

Indeed, I was being carried up the stairs. I lifted my head off of the person's shoulder, but it was too dark to see their face. "Go back to sleep," the person said. It wasn't Ro because this person had a British accent.

"Fine…" I said, putting my head back down. I sensed that the person was smiling. "What time is it?"

"Two. Go to sleep."

"A.M. or P.M.?"

"A.M. Now sleep."

"What's the time change from here to New Jersey?"

"I don't know."

"Is it four hours? I think it's four hours. So if it's two here it's ten at home… Bah humbug…" The person laughed. "Shhh! It's two in the morning. People are sleeping."

"And that's what you _should_ be doing."

"How come you're not?" I asked.

"I _was_. But you woke me up."

"How did I wake you up?"

"You were laying on me, then you moved. That's when I picked you up, and now I'm putting you down." The person laid me down on the bed and I quickly reached over and flicked on a light.

"Oh, hi Harry! Hey, I thought I fell asleep on Matt…"

"I was sitting on the other side of you. When he left, he moved you to over to me."

"He left? No!" I turned to the wall and banged my head against it. "Did he say if he was coming back?"

"Um… I think he told the Weasley's he'd be back tomorrow morning," Harry said.

"Oh thank God!"

"Why?"

"I have to um… clear something up between us… Anywho… g'night." Harry closed the door. I got out of bed and walked over to my trunk where I pulled out four red scrapbooks. I sat back down on the bed and flipped through the family pictures.

My mother was blond with silvery eyes, my father had short brown hair and brown eyes, and my little brother had blond hair and brown eyes. I suppose you could say we were an adorable family. When I saw these pictures, I didn't cry. Rather, I smiled.


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N**: Hey, y'all. Soooo this pretty much hasn't been up due to computer complications. But I have a new one now so it's all better! So hopefully I'll be getting these out much faster, and it'll all be good. Woohoo! Review please!

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**Love's Worst Element**  
Chapter Three- A Change in Atmosphere

"Uh… Matt."

"Julie?"

"Kasiss."

"Why?"

"That's my… name… I'm not blond and idiotic."

"Alright, then Kay?"

"…Kasiss. Please."

"Alright, fine. Kasiss…"

"Thank you. Now, I wanted to talk to you because we need to talk. About us. We broke up. We can't be in a relationship."

"You're right…" Matt said.

"But we can still be friends?"

"Um, sure. It's not like we had officially gotten back together."

"Right. But I still kissed you, projected that I like you to your family, and cried on your shoulder until I fell asleep on you," I declared. Mrs. Weasley called Matt downstairs.

"I should go. I have to meet some friends in," Matt checked his watch, "Ten minutes. So, see ya." Matt left my room and I was left alone. I felt like crap. Matt was the nicest first boyfriend anyone could ever have; and though he was a bit touchy on certain subjects, like my cousin's wedding, I still felt as if I needed his ultimate stability.

But that was all behind me now. Not by very far, but it was behind enough. Just as I acted as if I still had a family, and I intended to do the exact same thing in this situation. Not pretend I still had a boyfriend-like figure, but pretend I didn't care if we had broken up.

I walked downstairs just in time to see an owl fly down to the kitchen window and start pecking. I opened it, and the bird hopped in, sticking out his leg. I untied the string and looked at the five letters. One was addressed to me, and the others to Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. I walked upstairs and knocked on the top door. It creaked open to reveal Hermione and Harry sitting on one bed, and Ron on the other.

"Hi. These letters came for you just now. By the way, has either of you seen Sammy?"

"Uh… I think she's in the garden…" Hermione said.

"Okay thanks. How about Ginny?" I asked.

"Same."

"Okey dokey!" With that, I walked out of the room and headed downstairs. The vegetable garden was to the left of the front door, and as Hermione had said, Sammy, Ginny, Fred, and George were there, giving her belly rubs in the moist soil. "Hey guys…" I said. Sammy got up quickly and ran to me. "Awww! Do you love me better? Huh? Yes you do!" I said, flopping her ears around. "Oh, Ginny, this is for you," I said, handing Ginny the letter. "C'mon girlie!" I said, taking Sammy inside. "Oh, wait. I've been meaning to ask you this. Why aren't you two going to Hogwarts? You couldn't have graduated by now, I'm sure."

"We dropped out."

"And opened our own joke shop."

"Well, that sounds exciting. And I would expect something like that from you two…" I replied. "Oh, one more thing. Do you guys have an owl?" I asked.

"We do… But he sucks. Harry has Hedwig, though. Ask him," Ginny said.

"Why?" the twins asked.

"I just wanted to write a letter to a friend, that's all," I said, continuing into the house. I wiped Sammy's feet on my shoes, so as she didn't drag mud all over the place, and proceeded to fill up her food and water dishes, allowing her to eat in my room.

I opened the letter, realizing that it was a Hogwarts letter, telling me all about this year. I laid it on my bed, sat down on the ground and played with Sammy for a half an hour. She settled down on my lap, whining a little, and pawing at my hand. I smiled, and started petting her.

Not long after, I found myself quietly crying on her, while she laid there. "I miss them so much…" I whispered. Sammy responded my looking at the door, and barking. "Oh, shush!" I said, getting up and wiping my eyes. I opened the door.

"Hello Kasiss," Hermione said. "Do you mind if I come in?"

"Oh, no. Come, come…" I said, taking a seat on my bed. Sammy jumped up and sat on my left, leaving room for Hermione to sit on my right. "So…"

"So?" she asked.

"So, what's the occasion?" I asked.

"No occasion. I just wanted to get to know you," she said.

"Oh. Well. What do you want to know? I'm like a walking autobiography," I said smiling.

"Just this and that…" she started, falling quiet for a moment. "So, why did you come to Hogwarts this year. Why not stay at your other school?"

I started nervously stroking Sammy's ears. "W-Well… I, uh… To tell you the truth, um…" I took a deep breath. "Okay. I barely know you. But I can tell you're a trustworthy person. Very much friend material, I'm pleased to say. I don't care if you tell the whole world what happened, but you have to make sure they don't mention it to me, or I'll go psychotic-suicidal-freak-o."

"Erm… Okay…" Hermione said.

I took a deep breath, explaining what had happened for the second time in forty-eight hours. "My birthday was the tenth. I'm sixteen now. I got up and did all that morning stuff. When I went downstairs for my party, it was quiet. I went in the kitchen, and I could see my brother David, and my dad…" I sucked in my lips. "They were…" I sighed. "They were d-" I sighed again. "They were dead." Hermione put her hands over her mouth. "Dumbledore was there, and he told me that Voldemort killed them, and that Hogwarts was what my parents wanted." I took a few deep breaths, fighting back tears. "And that's why I'm here."

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I never meant to- I didn't mean to pry…" Hermione said sadly, looking down at the floor.

"It's fine. As long as I don't talk about it anymore. I'm kinda just trying to forget about the whole thing. I don't want to act any differently than I need to. So whoever you tell, make sure at the end you tell them that we pretend nothing happened. Okay?"

"Of course…"

"So… friends?" I asked. Hermione smiled. "Ah! Yay! I have a friend!"

"And I have a girl to talk to other than Ginny and Luna…" she said. After a moment of silence, she stood up. "Well, I should go. I have to start studying for this coming year…" And with that, my newest friend left the room.

**Harry's POV**

It was a full week after Kasiss had arrived at the Burrow. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were in the boy's room. It had been silent for the longest time, seeing as Harry had just revealed something interesting to his best friends. "Harry, you should do something about the problem you think you have with her. Even though there _isn't_ a problem…" Hermione said.

"There _is_ a problem Hermione! She's always awkward around me!" Harry replied. "And I can't figure out why."

"Well, you didn't tell us that part of it. But Harry, you have to understand that she just lost her family. And she's known you for a week. You can't expect her to be friends with _everyone_," Hermione said. Her chocolate eyes were kind, and her words were the same. Harry hated how she was always right.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I get your point…" Harry sighed. "I'm going to bed…" he said a moment later.

"Me too. See you in the morning." Hermione left the room, followed by Harry. He walked into the bathroom, brushed his teeth, and changed into his pj bottoms and an almost fitted long sleeve shirt.

He walked back out to the hall, just standing at the door. He wasn't waiting for anything, nor was he avoiding something. Harry, actually, didn't know why he was standing by the door rather than going through it. All the could think about was what he said that could have offended Kasiss in any way. _Potter…_ Harry thought. _If you fall for her I'll kill me!_

Just at that moment, a door opened down a few levels, and a second later Kasiss was walking by. Harry looked at her, following her every move. Her pale skin was contrasted with the black spaghetti strap shirt she was wearing, which enhanced her perfect figure.

Harry then noticed that her sparkling blue eyes were trained on him. He smiled a little after she looked away. _Harry… Harry… HARRY FOR THE LOVE OF MERLIN WILL YOU STOP LOOKING AT HER!_ Harry told himself. But his mind did nothing to his trance. He looked at her even after she had closed the bathroom door. Harry let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding in. _Damn she's pretty…_ A minute or two later, she was on her way back down.

"Night Harry," she said dreamily as she continued walking.

"Night," he replied quietly. Kasiss looked back at Harry and smiled, telling Harry that she had felt his stare.

"Somebody has a crush!" someone said sing-songilly.

"Who?" Harry asked, knowing full well the person meant him.

"Don't play dumb with us. We know you know we mean you." It was Fred and George. "We also know you fancy her," they mocked.

"I do not," Harry said. He wasn't exactly lying. He thought she was pretty, but that's no good reason to fancy someone.

"Come one, Harry!" Fred started.

"We won't tell her, we promise!" George finished.

"I _am_ telling you! I don't like her!" Harry turned around and walked into his room, closing the door, telling the twins he didn't want to talk anymore.

**Kasiss' POV**

After hours of tossing and turning in bed, I found it difficult to think of sleep when Harry's electric green eyes were picturing so vibrantly in my mind. I wanted to run my fingers through his messy hair, playfully or otherwise.

But somehow my mind trailed off to my family. The warm, fuzzy feeling in my chest was replaced by a wet, dark feeling, and tears welled up in my eyes yet again. I heard soft rain fall on the window of my room. I cried softly, and cried myself to sleep.

_It was dark, and there were traces of fog floating around. There were many dark figures standing around, and in the center of it all was another dark figure. With a pop a person wearing lighter clothes appeared. Next to her there was a shining dog._ Immediately I knew the person was me, and the dog was Sammy. _"I had a feeling you'd be here tonight…" the person in the center said. _

_"Well, of course you did. You seem to know everything else about me," I said tartly. Sammy barked. _

_"You brought a friend. How nice. So, you know what my plan is, don't you?" The person's face was pale, almost white, and his nose was merely two slits in his face._ I recognized him vaguely, but the name didn't come.

_"Yes, I do. And I'd like to tell you that it's never going to work." _

_"And why is that?" _

_"Because there is one major flaw. I'm not evil. And you can't change that." Sammy barked again. "Hush!" _

_"Oh, I can't, can I?" he asked. _

_"No. You can't. You can try, but you can't succeed. And the Imperious Curse doesn't work on me, or my friend," I said smugly. _

_"I knew that much already. What I didn't know was that I can't succeed in having you on my side. See, I've chosen not to use the Imperious Curse multiple times, finding there to be much more… torturous ways to get what I want. And what I want is you." Sammy barked again. The man looked evilly at her. "I don't seem to remember that when I dropped by your house on your sixteenth birthday."_ I realized who it was at that moment. It was Voldemort. Rage filled within me.

_"She was in the back yard. It was her favorite place. She hasn't seen it in two years, no thanks to you," I said. _

_"It's fascinating how attached one can be to an animal, isn't it?" _

_"What are you getting at?" I asked suspiciously. Sammy barked again. "Hush!" _

_"You are destined to be on the dark side, and I will do what it takes to get you there. Which means-" _

_"You wouldn't dare…" I said darkly. _

_"I would," Voldemort said simply. I took in a deep breath, my eyes widening as I noticed that some of the Death Eaters chuckled. Hate filled my eyes, and I pursed my lips. _

_Slowly, my arm outreached. "Oh, no. I wouldn't brand you. No. You need something different. You're not like anyone else here. No." Voldemort pulled out his wand, and pointed it at my left forearm. A deep cut gashed through my skin. I tensed up, squinting my eyes, daring myself not to scream. "That should do it." _

_Almost immediately after saying that, figures apparated all around. The Death Eaters sprung into action, shooting spells at the people already shooting spells back. They were Order members, already here to save my life. _

_"Remember, Kasiss! You're on my side now!" Voldemort shouted. The air thickened, and when I looked around, many on the good side looked at me with wide eyes, but quickly went back to their dueling. _

_"R-Right…" I said, quickly running over to a Death Eater to start dueling against Molly Weasley, who looked nervous as hell. _

_"Avada Kedevra!" someone shouted. I looked around to see a flash of green light. Next thing I was staring at a lifeless body on the ground. She was blonde, and wore a fur coat._

My eyes faded out, and I woke up. Screaming.


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Hey all! So this one's a bit longer than my other chapters. Thankfully. I swear I'm trying to write them longer, but it's just not coming to me lately. Anyways, I'm posting chapter five today too, so you should read that also. Chapter six and seven are done, and if I recall correctly, chapter eight is done. I'll get those up in the near future. So yeah! Review and I'll love you forever! :D**

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**Love's Worst Element**

Chapter Four- Diagon Ally

People were crowded into my room, looking concernedly down upon me. My eyes were wide open and my arms were clenching protectively on the bed covers. "Dearest, what's happened?" Mrs. Weasley asked me.

"H-H-He…" I stuttered. My arms were shaking profusely, and I glanced down at my left. There was a small scratch down my inside forearm. "He… Oh my God!" I yelled, standing up quickly. I pushed past my new found friends, seeing no dog on the large pillow. "Sammy!" I yelled. I ran out the door, running down the stairs. "Sammy!" I yelled again. When I entered the library I saw her, lying by the smoldering ashes of the fire. I fell at her sleeping body, hugging round her neck. Footsteps rushed behind me. I stood, looked at the group, and cleared my throat.

"Uh… False alarm… Sorry to wake you all…" I sighed, and watched as most of the people groaned and walked tiredly back to their rooms. One, however, stayed.

"You had a nightmare, didn't you?" he asked.

"I guess… It didn't really feel like one though. And… I got a scratch. But that doesn't matter much. My dad used to have night terrors when he was a kid, and I suppose I've taken after him in that department…" I replied, sitting on the couch.

"I've got the same problem," Harry said. "It helps to talk about it."

I hesitated. "Well, uh… It was just a dream. What's the point of dwelling on it?" I got up and started up the stairs. "Besides… I don't really _want_ to talk about it…"

"So that's basically all it is? You don't _want_ to talk about it?" Harry asked, following me.

"Or maybe I don't _need_ to talk about it," I replied, opening my bedroom door and walking inside. I was about to close it when Harry put his hand inside.

"Are you sure?" he asked, his green eyes piercing into my blue.

I sighed. "Goodnight, Harry…" With that, I closed the door and climbed back into bed. If anyone were to look at me, they would assume I was sleeping. But I was far from that, and that's how it was until breakfast the next morning.

"Good morning, dear. How are you?" Mrs. Weasley asked as soon as I entered the kitchen.

"I'm fine," I lied. I knew nobody believed me, as I had swollen, red eyes and a pale face. There was a silence.

"Well, what would you like to eat?" the plump woman asked, looking quickly at the table filled with all sorts of breakfast foods, then back at me.

"I'm actually not hungry," I said quietly.

"Oh, that's quite alright," she replied.

"So I'm just going to go outside…" I said, turning to the door. I called Sammy to my side, desperate to not let her out of my site. "C'mon," I said after we'd gotten fifteen or so feet away from the house. I broke into a run, jogging the edge of the property line, as I had taken to doing every morning. It was about a half an hour and two laps later that I stumbled onto the soft wet grass. I rolled onto my back and looked up to the cloudy sky. Sammy sat on my stomach, panting.

"Awww! Sammy! Get off!" I said, laughing and nudging her up so I could move. I reached over and found a stick. I picked it up and put it near Sammy's face. "You want it?" I asked, moving it around. She stood up and looked at it, tail wagging madly. I threw it as far as I could without having to sit up. A while later, she came back with the stick in her mouth, drool dripping from it. I took it and threw it again, and Sammy raced off after it. But instead of a dog returning the stick, it was a boy.

"Thanks for throwing this at me…" he said.

"Oops… Uh… Sorry… I was throwing it for Sammy and I wasn't looking and-" I started.

"It's fine… Just a little slobber on my shirt, that's all." I sat up and looked at Harry.

"So, where's Ron and Hermione?" I asked. Not a moment later the two started bickering as they were walking towards us.

"No, Ron. They were _not_ invented by a wizard! No matter what your dad thinks!"

"He studies that, Hermione! He's obsessed!"

"I live with it! I grew up around them! They are not in any way magical!"

"But-"

"No!"

"But-"

"Ronald!" Hermione shouted, sighing afterwards. "Leonardo da Vinci was not a wizard. He was a famous painter and inventor, but not a wizard. _He_ was the one who invented the first hang glider, therefore proving that hang gliders are _not_ of magical substance…"

"But they fly! Even if there's no wind, they still fly!" Ron protested.

"Ron, hang gliders need wind to fly properly. They are used by Muggles, and they were invented by a Muggle. End of story. There's nothing more to it," Hermione finished as they finally stopped at where me and Harry were.

"I agree…" I added, earning a smile of gratitude from Hermione. The three sat down next to me, laughing a little when Sammy sniffed all of their faces. I gulped, not really knowing if I should say what I wanted to say. After some silence, I decided it was the right thing to do. "So… About last night…" As soon as I said that, their attention tunneled on me. "I don't usually like to talk about dreams and stuff… But I really think you guys won't think I'm weird about it. So anyways-" I sighed. "I think it was the beginning of the final thing… You know, the Final Battle. Good versus Evil."

"What happened?" Harry asked, looking intently at me.

"Well… I don't really remember it much, but someone was betraying you guys. She was talking to Voldemort and he bribed her into being a Death Eater. He said that she was different than the others, so instead of branding her, he sliced her arm open… In the end, everybody showed up to fight and he shouted 'You're on my side now!' Everyone was shocked… Like they hadn't even seen it coming." I drew in a deep breath. "And that was it. That's when I woke up." Harry, Ron, and Hermione were silent, looking at me as if I was leaving something out. I knew that I was, but I didn't want to add the fact that it was me and the thing that made me go bad was my dog. I threw the stick back out into the yard, Sammy chasing after it happily. "But it was just a dream."

Right when I said that, a pain rushed through my body. It was piercing through me, begging to split me in half. It was like what had happened a week before, only Harry didn't feel it. I clutched one arm around my abdomen, putting my other hand on the bridge of my nose. I closed my eyes tightly, trying to squeeze out the pain. "Kasiss-" Hermione started. I put my finger up to indicate to just give me a second. And that's all I needed, because just a moment later the pain subsided. I blinked my eyes a few times and took deep breaths.

"Kasiss, are you alright?" Hermione said.

"Yeah… I'm fine. No idea what that was about," I replied, only half truthfully. The trio looked at me skeptically, but their looks changed when Sammy leapt onto my legs, leaving mud splattered everywhere. "Sammy!" I shouted. "What the hell did you just get into?"

Harry and Ron were laughing, while Hermione was trying to fight a smile with a shocked expression, though it wasn't working too well. I sighed, giving the group a flat expression. "Ron, might I use the bathtub in the bathroom? Or should I just wash her off with your best shirt?"

"Use the bathroom," he said, trying to stop smiling.

"Okay, thanks," I said, getting up. The others did the same and started walking back to the house. "Hey!" I said loudly.

They didn't turn around, but Ron replied, "What?"

"Hey, Sammy, come on," I said, jogging to the front of them I stopped, forcing them to stop too. I took a few steps back, smirking. "Sammy! Wiggle!" The dog's head started moving, then her front, and before anyone could see what was coming, she was in a full shake, flinging mud all over the group.

I turned back to the house, laughing so hard I nearly couldn't walk. "Good girl!" I said as she ran up to me, walking along my footsteps. I looked behind me, seeing all three of them wearing the most shocked expressions, and a large splattering of mud.

When I got to the house I carried Sammy through, not wanting her to track mud all the way up the stairs. The bathtub was big enough for her to fit in it, but small enough for me to be able to stop her from jumping out or walking around. I started by just rinsing off the mud that had started matting up her hair, dragging my fingers through her golden fur.

I reached out and grabbed my shampoo, squeezing it onto her back. I lathered it up, dropping kisses on the top of her wet head all the while, telling her how good she was. Sammy had never really liked baths, and yet found water fascinating. I figured it was like how many people hate raisons, but love grapes.

When her whole body was completely lathered, I rinsed her, then toweled her off as best as I could. I laid the towel on the floor and told her to lay on it. I locked the bathroom door and stepped into the shower myself, washing away the grime that she had put on me. When I had finished, I put on the same clothes as I had on before, left the bathroom with Sammy at my heels, and went down the stairs and into my room.

I changed into my oldest and most tattered jeans and a plain white tee-shirt. The jeans were my favorite because not only had I had them for so long and been everywhere with them, but they had things written all over them in magically permanent ink. Most of the stuff was just random thoughts, but some of it was signatures, and even a few drawings. I smiled, looking down at the spot Christine had reserved for herself, which was everywhere below my right knee. I sighed, wishing so bad that I could be home. "Oh well…" I breathed, standing up from my bed and rummaging through my suitcase.

I pulled out my magically powered, super powerful hairdryer and began to blow my hair. Judging the thickness of my hair, a usual hairdryer would take quite a few minutes, but with this one, it took only a few seconds. I walked over to Sammy and started blow drying her fur. I wasn't really paying attention as I did so, as my thoughts were back at how people might have reacted to nobody being home on the day of my birthday.

When I brought myself back down to the real world and looked at my dog, I didn't think it was the same one. Her normally golden fur was a bright shade of pink with the exception of her face, which was still it's normal color. I gasped, wincing at the brightness, like one would after going from total darkness to pure sunlight.

I turned off the blow dryer and ran downstairs, Sammy right next to me. "No!" I shouted as I was going down. "No! This is not happening!" My temper was rising with each quickly paced step, and by the time I stepped into the kitchen my hands were in tight fists, my eyes were glared, and my lips were pursed.

Lunch had started, and all the teenagers in the house were eating and chatting, with Mrs. Weasley nowhere in site. I marched straight up to Hermione who was the closest person and demanded for her to pinch me.

"Whoa…" she said with wide eyes, looking from me to Sammy.

"My dog is pink!" I shouted, looking back at Sammy. "Update, my dog is purple! _Please_ tell me I'm imagining this!"

Nobody spoke. They barely even moved. Then Harry lifted his arm and pointed at me.

"What!" I roared.

"Your-"

"What?" I repeated.

"Your-" he started again. But before he could finish, and before I could interrupt him again, two redheads marched in through the door. Almost immediately they started laughing. I flipped my hair around to the front of my shoulders, and out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of it. My eyes widened and my hand moved slowly to my hair, lifting it up in front of my face.

My breath caught in my chest and I dropped the lock. "My hair…" I whispered, almost silently. "My hair is… blue. My hair is blue…" My anger returned to me when I realized Fred and George were still laughing and whispering excitedly to themselves.

"It worked!" one of them said. My eyes narrowed in their direction and I walked slowly towards them.

"My hair is blue…" I said again.

"Aw. Your hair is sad?"

"Poor thing. I'm so sorry."

"My _hair_ is _blue_."

"Actually, it's orange now…" Ron said. I ignored him, still looking darkly at the twins.

"My hair is multicolored, and you're saying 'it worked.' I believe there's a connection. Confess or I'll lock you in a chamber that's slowly filling with carbon monoxide," I threatened darkly.

"We developed a new joke," one started.

"But nobody wanted to test it," the other continued.

"We had intended on just you to use it."

"But to see that it works on things bigger than the average human head is great!"

"Great? Do you want to see something that's _really_ great!" I asked loudly. Their eyebrows lifted. "The only things I'll need is rope, salt, and a really rusty knife," I said, counting each item off on my fingers. "Now, how do I fix this?"

"Well…"

"We'd have to make an antidote-"

"And there's no telling how long that'll take-"

"What? You mean you haven't made something that'll fix this, and you don't know how long it'll be?"

"Nope."

"My best guess is-"

"One or two weeks."

"What?" I yelled.

"Sorry!" I glared at them for a moment, turned on my heel and started upstairs. Before I reached the first step, I turned around.

"Oh, and you'd better have this fixed_ before_ I get on the train. If not, you'll have lifelong pain."

It was about an hour later that everyone was standing in the back room of Fred and George's shop, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Mrs. Weasley was going over the plan so we could get out of Diagon Ally as quickly as possible. I was to go to Madam Malkin's with Tonks to get fitted for robes. I would wait there until my three sets of uniforms were finished being hemmed up, while a few people went to Flourish and Blotts to pick up four sets of sixth year books and one set of fifth year books. A few other people were going around the rest of the shops and picking up quills, ink bottles, parchment, and potions ingredients.

"Why are you wearing a hood?" Tonks asked me as we walked down the cobbled path toward the robe shop.

"Fred and George did a little experiment. They didn't make an antidote for it, so I'm stuck with multi-colored hair," I said.

"What's wrong with that?" she asked with a twinkle in her eye, changing her hair from lavender to bubblegum pink.

"You're a Metamorphmagus?" I asked.

"Yep. But don't change the subject."

I sighed. "Nothing's wrong with crazy hair colors. I've always wanted to dye my hair blue just to see what it looked like. I didn't, however, want to look like the horse of a different color."

"The what?"

"It's from a Muggle movie. Anyways, every five seconds, my hair changes to a different color because Fred and George put one of their experiments in my shampoo. Me and my dog have matching hair now." Tonks was laughing. "It's not funny!" I said, giggling a little myself. "Okay, so it is a _little_ funny… But I don't want to go to a new school and blind everyone with bright green hair!"

"Kasiss, Fred and George are really good at what they do. So, I guarantee they'll have something that'll turn your hair back to normal."

"Have you told them that?" I asked, turning to open the door.

"I'll be out here," Tonks said, stationing herself on a bench by the front window. I walked in, and was greeted by a woman I labeled as Madam Malkin.

"Hogwarts?" she asked.

"Uh, yes," I answered.

"What house?"

"I don't have one yet," I said, being beckoned onto a tiny, round stage.

"A transfer… That's unusual. Only happened once before, twenty or so years ago," Madam Malkin rambled, writing down measurements as a measuring tape whisked around me. I said nothing to this, as I had no idea what to say anyways. It was about a half hour later that I received my robes in a little bag, paid for them, and was ushered out, only to be greeted by something catching my leg.

I fell to the ground, the bag flying out of my hands, the uniforms spilling over the road. "Shit…" I mumbled, getting up off the ground and taking a look at my elbows before gathering my robes and stuffing them back in the bag. It was only then that I noticed snorts of laughter. I realized my hood had fallen off, and metallic silvery-pink tresses caressed my shoulders. When I turned to see who was laughing, I saw two large boys, looking very stupid, and one pale, platinum blond boy with icy blue eyes that were stuck to me. He wore a sneer on his face. I lifted my hood back over my head and ran off.

I didn't know where I was running, nor did I care. I didn't care that the wind had become so strong it had blown off my hood and made my hair stand out even more as it blew in every which direction, all the while changing color. I didn't care until I bumped into someone, our heads crashing together.

"Oh, God! Sorry! Ow! Holy- Kasiss?"

"Well… One can't exactly say I'm holy, but thanks…" I said, rubbing my head. "Ooo! Ice cream!" I said, looking over at a little ice cream shop.

"Are you kidding me? It's freezing!" Ro said. "Besides, I think you guys are leaving."

"I don't care if it's freezing. We aren't leaving until we're all finished. Ginny still needs to get back with the potions ingredients. I like ice cream."

"What the hell happened to your hair?"

"Fred and George happened to my hair," I said, pulling the hood over my head again, and pulling on the strings to keep it tight.

"Okay," he replied, as if that was a sufficient answer. "C'mon. I'll buy you an ice cream."

"Goodie!" I said with a grin.

"So why were you running?" he asked.

"Well, Ro," I started. "My hair fell out after being tripped, and people were laughing at me."

"So you ran away?"

"No. I wouldn't call it that…" I started.

"Uh-huh. Then what _would_ you call it?"

"Um… Removing myself from what could have become a conflict in which I would eventually had to have been removed…"

"Right…" Ro said, nodding. "Because that makes so much sense."

"I know, right?" I said, turning to the man behind the freezers. "Uh… Ooo! Triple chocolate! Happy! Please." The man handed me a large scoop of dark brown ice cream in a waffle cone. Ro pulled out a sickle from his pocket and handed it to the clerk. "Thank you!" I exclaimed, licking the scoop happily.

"Kasiss, what are you eating?" Ron asked when Ro and I reached the group.

"Ice cream," I replied.

"How could you eat that? It's bitter out here!" Hermione said.

"But… It's ice cream… I like ice cream… Are you telling me I can't have ice cream?" I stammered, sticking out my lower lip.

"N- I just-"

"I'm kidding. I know it's cold. But seriously… I like ice cream… I would eat ice cream for breakfast if I could…" There was a silence for a moment, then Ginny and Mrs. Weasley walked into the group, both holding potions ingredients.

"Alright everyone. Do we have everything? Good, then lets head over to see Fred and George before we leave," Mrs. Weasley said. "Kasiss, why in Merlin's name are you eating that?"

"'Cause…" I said. She gave me a look. "He bought it for me!" I defended, pointing a finger at Ro.

"Mathew, honestly. Do you have to do this every time you come with us?"

"Do what?" I asked, giving Ro a sideways glance.

"Oh, never mind. Come along. We shouldn't be standing around here…" Mrs. Weasley led the way down the street, and as we walked, Ron started talking to me, answering my question.

"Every time he comes here, we take trips. Don't really know why, we just do. Anyways, he always does something completely irrational, stupid, or pointless."

"Oh, and buying me ice cream is pointless?" I asked.

"According to my mum, yes."

"Bummer…" There was a silence. "Is it just me or is it really cold?" Ron laughed. I threw out what was left of my cone and crossed my arms over my body.

"Cold?" Harry asked.

"Me? Cold? Psh, no!" I said, waving an arm in a dramatic manor, and quickly crossed my arms again. I was thankful for the warmth inside Fred and Georges shop, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. The room wasn't too crowded, and it was easy to spot the twins walking around and checking in on things.

"Hey!" one of them said when they spotted us. "How's shopping?"

"Looking forward to school?"

"Looking forward to meeting the new Dark Arts teacher?"

"Hope he's good."

"Like Lupin or Moody."

"Not that it was the real Moody in the first place."

"Still a good teacher, though."

"Yeah. I'll bet this one's good though."

"Heard Dumbledore's getting someone from the States."

"He looked for him personally, too. Chose him and everything."

"Haven't got much more information, unfortunately."

"Anyways." By this time, Tonks, Hermione, and Ginny had gone in one direction, Harry, Ron, and Ro in another, and Mrs. Weasley was behind the counter looking for something. I was the only one left, and I hadn't paid much attention to their side of the conversation. "She looks mad, dear brother."

"Indeed, she does, dear brother."

"Perhaps a certain hair product would cheer her up." I looked up at this, smiling very slightly.

"But, my dear brother, what hair care are you talking about?"

"Guys, cut the cute. Are you saying you've finished it already?"

"Indeed we have. We put a rush order on it just for you."

"Then hand it over. I'm not leaving until I have it." Fred, or possibly George, went behind the counter and dropped out of sight. He came up with a bag marked with two 'W's and 'Kasiss' written in large, bold letters. I looked in the bag and saw a large bottle. "Who needs this much?"

"Well, enough for you and Sammy, plus enough to last you through the shampoo bottle that has our product in it."

"I'm not taking a chance like that! I bought new shampoo and conditioner anyways…" I replied.

"Oh… Well you could give it to someone you hate?"

"Like Malfoy!"

"Yeah!"

"Who?" I asked.

"Malfoy."

"Okay, but what if I don't hate him?" I said, raising an eyebrow.

"You hate Malfoy."

"I haven't met this Malfoy character…"

"Does that matter?"

"You'll hate him."

"How about I just send the shampoo and conditioner back to you when I'm through?" I didn't wait for an answer, but walked away, towards Mrs. Weasley who was rounding everyone up.

"Did you buy something?" Harry asked.

"Nope."

"You stealing something?" Ro said smiling, as he nudged me with his elbow.

"No. I'm fixing my hair."

"What happened with that again?" he asked, his brown eyes sincere.

"But you know!" I protested.

"I forgot. Could you show me?" I sighed and pulled my hood down. There was a flash, and Ro quickly shoved something in his coat pocket.

"You just took a picture," I commented, my eyes wide.

"No I didn't," Ro retorted innocently.

"Yes you did! Give me the camera!" I shouted, reaching out for the camera.

"No! You have to have _something_ to commemorate the moments you have here!"

"Not _this_ memory! Now fork over the camera!" I grabbed hold of the lapel of his jacket and tried to pull outwards so I could get to the pocket. Ro resisted with force.

"No! You can't have it, I refuse!" he said, taking my hands in his. I tried to wriggle my way free.

"Now, Mathew! Don't horseplay in the shop!" Mrs. Weasley demanded.

"Yes, _Mathew!_ Don't horseplay in the shop!" I repeated scoldingly.

"Relax, Molly! We're not horseplaying! It's just a little squabble!" Ro said, still holding tightly to my hands.

Everyone had dispersed again, and Mrs. Weasley was talking in hushed tones to Fred and George. "Mathew, I will give you to the count of seven and a half to give me that camera!" I demanded.

"Seven and a half?"

"Yes. That'll give me enough time to get in at least three hard kicks. Unhand me you cad!"

"I don't think so."

"But I-" I glared at him before kicking him in the shins.

"Ow! Hey! I would consider that horseplay!" Ro said, laughing. "I'm gonna tell on you!"

"Aw! Is you gonna tell on me? Mattie Wattie is just a wickle baby!" I gave him another kick.

"Stop!"

"Then let go!"

"Never!"

The next word I uttered was completely out of the blue. It had come out of nowhere, and I didn't really understand why I had shouted it so loudly.

"Harry!"

My eyes widened and I stopped resisting Ro's capture. "What?" someone said. I turned my head and saw that Harry was standing next to me.

"I-uh-" But before I could think of an excuse, I hunched over, my face shoving into Ro's shoulder.

He quickly let go of my arms and pushed me back, "Kasiss," he said, laughing a little. I groaned. "Kasiss?"


	6. Chapter 5

**Love's Worst Element**  
Chapter Five- Home Again

The day after we went to Diagon Ally, Mrs. Weasley asked if I needed anything from home. I had stared at her for a moment before nodding my head, not actually thinking about what it was that I needed. She had looked at me like I was a poor child.

Now, Tonks was taking me by the hand. "Ready?" she asked, but instead of waiting for an answer, she turned on her heel and we apparated away to my street.

Tonks and I walked in silence until I reached my house and wriggled the welcome flag out of it's stand and dumped out the spare key. I unlocked the house and replaced it and the flag.

"So, what was it you needed to get?"

"Uh… My meds," I said, thinking hard on what I needed. "And I need to throw out all of the food so nothing is gross when I get back."

"How can I help?" she asked, following me to the kitchen. She couldn't see the wetness in my eyes as I walked slowly through the house.

"Y-You could dump all the stuff in the fridge. Just pour liquids down the sink and toss everything else," I said, struggling to keep my voice steady. Tonks walked to the refrigerator and opened it. I pulled the trash can from under the sink and put it next to her. I walked to the message machine and pushed the button. There was a high pitched beeping noise before the messages played.

"Kasiss! Happy Birthday! I know I'll see you later on today, but I just _had_ to be the first of your friends to tell you how excited I am that you're finally sixteen!" It was Christine Alger, my best friend. I choked up when I heard her voice.

"Kasiss! I'm just calling to tell you that I'm on my way to your party right now! Why isn't anyone picking up this phone? Mr. Cameron? David? Kasiss? Kaaasiss? C'mon guys! Pick up!" Christine again.

"Kasiss, answer your door! And your phone! What's going on here? We're all waiting outside!" Christine.

"Kasiss, I don't know what happened today, but we're all really worried about you. Could you at least call _someone_?" Christine.

"Kasiss, I couldn't find Matt to see if he knew where you were. His parents said he enrolled himself in a school in England. Did something happen between you two? And where's your dad and David? Why isn't anyone home?" Christine.

"Kasiss, where'd you go? I got tired of waiting for you, so I got the spare key and went up to your room. You weren't in there. Nothing was in there. Sammy's not in the back yard, your dad isn't home, your brother isn't home. I'm really getting worried. Call me as soon as you get this message." Christine.

A single tear rolled down my cheek. Tonks was at my side, one hand on my shoulder. It was surprisingly comforting. I got to the final message.

"Kasiss… It's me. Christine… I- I don't understand what happened. Your birthday was two weeks ago. You haven't called anyone. No one knows where you are. Kay… I just want to say that you mean more than anything to me… And… Well… It hurts that you're not talking to me. And I don't know why. I don't know… I don't know what I did, or what someone else did to make you leave. And I'm sorry… Just… I'm-" There was a pause in the tearful message before the line clicked off. She had been crying. Christine, the toughest girl I knew, was crying.

I turned to Tonks with tears now streaming down my face, though I had no expression. "Tonks, I have to-"

"I'm not supposed to let you call anyone, but I can tell this is tearing you apart. Go ahead and call her," she said sympathetically. "But make it quick. We don't have much time." I reached my hand out and picked up the phone, dialing Christine's number and walking out to the living room.

The laundry I had folded for Dad was still on the coffee table. David's toy trucks were lying on the floor. For a moment I didn't realize that someone had answered on the other end of the line.

"Hello? Kasiss? Hello?" an anxious voice said. I forgot Christine had caller ID. "Hello? Please. Say something!" I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. I wasn't breathing or blinking or moving. I was frozen to the spot, feeling pressure gain on my chest. "Kasiss, please…"

"Christine…" I whispered, my voice cracking.

"Yes, Kasiss. It's me. What's going on? What happened?"

"Christine…" I said again, a little louder. "I'm fine. I'm not going back to school. I can't. I'm living in England. Ro is going to the same school as me. He found out where I was going and transferred."

"Kasiss, why? Tell me what happened. Let me come over. I can be there in five minutes."

"You can't. I'm sorry. You can't come over. I'm just picking up my meds and then I have to go. Tonks is breaking the rules by letting me call you. I just-" I took a breath. "I just wanted to tell you that I'm okay, and nothing happened to me."

"Why isn't anyone else home? No one answers the phone anymore," Christine stated. I took in a sharp breath. "Why won't you tell me?"

"I- I'm trying to- to forget what happened. It was the worst birthday of my life… I don't want to talk about it any more than I already have. But I want to tell you. I do."

"Then tell me. Just tell me."

"Kasiss, we have to leave," Tonks said softly. I walked to the back window, the phone still pressed lightly to my ear. I could hear Christine's uneven breathing very softly.

I whispered, the words being barely audible, "I'll tell you. I swear I will. Just not now. Please not now."

"Kasiss-" Christine started.

"I have to go. I love you." I pushed the off button and dropped to the ground, wrapping my arms around my knees.

"C'mon," Tonks said, lifting me gently by my shoulders. I hugged my waist, clutching my shirt tightly. "C'mon Kasiss. It's okay." She pulled me to her side and walked me to the kitchen. It didn't help my shaking sobs. "We'll just grab your medication and we can go, okay?" I nodded my head, walking to the cupboard and pulling out the little orange bottle. Tonks took my hand and started guiding me to the door.

"Wait," I said. I turned around and headed for the stairs. The closet at the top wasn't opened much. It held my mother's belongings; her wedding dress, her clothes, her everything. Everything except her. And I was the only person who ever climbed into the closet and sat on the floor, breathing in the old perfume, touching the soft cloth, almost feeling her presence.

The only thing I ever used was her guitar. It was a beautiful thing, and no one knew I played it. I had only ever played the electric guitar. My friends always said the electric guitar was the reflection of my soul, and it may have been, but my mother's guitar was my other half. It made me complete, and it filled the gap in my heart that was always there. That's why I want to take it with me. I grabbed the handle and pulled it out of the closet, then walked back down the stairs.

Tonks held the door open, following me out of the house. We walked down the empty sidewalk in silence, and when we got to the street corner, Tonks took my hand. "Hold on tight," she said.

The grip I had on Mom's guitar tightened, as did her grip on my hand. We were just about to turn and disappear when I saw a figure walking down the street. The figure wore a blue sweater and had a gold, shiny purse.

"Kasiss!" the figure screamed, as she started running towards me and Tonks. "Kasiss wait!"

I stared at the person, the tears rising in my eyes again. I drew in a breath to shout back at the person. It caught in my chest with a sharp tug and tense pressure. When it let loose, the scream of my friend's name came out. I fell to my knees and leaned onto the guitar case, my arms wrapping around the neck.

I didn't want to try hiding my pain anymore, but I knew it would be easier to deal with if I did, so I picked myself up a moment later and stalked off to the pond. I left the guitar on the shore, but walked to the end of the dock and dangled my feet into the cold water. The dock swayed a little when Ro sat down next to me. I sniffed and wiped my eyes, preparing to defend myself.

"So…" he started.

"I don't want to talk about it," I protested before he could get going.

"You don't want to talk about the letter I got from our Dark Arts teacher? Alright. If you insist," said Ro as he started to push up to his feet. I pulled him back down. "Oh, okay. I guess I'm not leaving. But I'm not going to talk about it, as per your wishes."

"Ro, you know what I meant. Tell me about the letter," I prompted, relieved that he wasn't going to ask what happened. "Who's the teacher?"

"Her name is Lacy Darren. Dumbledore went out to look for her specifically, like Fred and George said. Anyways, she sent me a letter saying that she's made a club of some sorts-"

"I'm not joining a club," I interrupted.

"Listen," he commanded. I rolled my eyes. "It's not really a club. It's just an after school thing and people that go regularly do little readings or speeches or-"

"It sounds like a club. I'm not joining it," I insisted again.

"Will you just shut up and listen?" he sighed. I pursed my lips and glared into the water. "Thank you. Readings or speeches or any other performances. It's mainly for the people who are going into a career that doesn't have a class. And since Hogwarts doesn't have a class for music-"

"You want us to join a club so we can sing to our fellow students? No way. I'm not doing it."

"For the last time, it's not a club! And if you want to do this kind of stuff for a living, you're going to have to start getting up in front of crowds of crazy kids and sing your little heart out. Can I finish what I'm saying now please?"

"Fine."

"Good. Somehow she knows that we're aspiring musicians of sorts, so she wants us to demonstrate at the first extracurricular class thing."

"Hu-uh. No way. I won't. You can't make me." The thought of me singing on the first day of school in front of people I didn't know made me sick.

"Kasiss, you have to. Think about it; you and me wowing the crowd. People will like us-"

"People will have to get over us not singing," I mumbled. Ro continued like I didn't say anything.

"-and we'll be famous before we even start. We'll get people to carry our books for us and fans and we can thank all the little people without having to win an award. We'll get whatever we want and make good friends-"

"Until we realize that they only like us for our fame and nonexistent fortune."

"Don't forget our devilishly good looks." I laughed. It did sound kinda nice to have fans. "All I'm saying is," he continued, "we should do this. It's one thing that we'll be famous, but we'll also get a head start on our careers in a way. Plus, I already sent an owl saying we'd do it."

"Dammit, Matt!" I shouted, slapping him. "What if I didn't see you until we got to school? And what are we supposed to sing? I don't have any music with me, and I don't think going back home is an option for me. Of course, you always could. But then how are we going to learn it? We don't have a piano," I ranted, feeling anxious and exasperated.

"Relax, Kasiss. We've already sung enough stuff together to know a few things, don't you think?" I gasped, a smile rising on my face.

"Can it at least be something fun so I don't have to think about my stupidity or killing you?"

"She asked if it could be something a' capella. So whatever you're thinking, probably no." I sighed, leaning my head on his shoulder.

"Prayer!" I said after a minute of silence. Ro jumped with surprise. "Prayer!" I said again. "Can we? I love that song! Can we?"

"Uh- okay."

"Oh, never mind, you don't like that song. Forget it."

"No, it's not that I don't like it, it's just that I don't get to say anything in English."

"You do too!"

"Yeah, five lines!" There was a pause. "It's not exactly a' capella…"

"It isn't necessary for the music, though."

"True… Alright, fine. Let's do it." I smiled smugly and stood up, walking up to the tree and grabbing the guitar.

"You're rather good at distracting me, you know?" I said. Ro didn't say anything. "I mean, I came back from home and I was just _dying_. And then you came along and made me feel better and forget everything. I suppose it's good that you're going to be around. I'd much rather have you push away all things out to get me and replace it with nerves or anger or anxiety or all of the above."

"Gee, thanks."

"Any time." There was a long silence as we walked slowly to the Burrow. "So, I saw Christine today…"

"Really? What'd she say?"

"Well, I talked to her on the phone. She was really nervous that something happened between you and me because we're both gone. She wanted to know what was going on. I called her and told her we're fine. I didn't want to get into detail over the phone. Then as me and Tonks were leaving, she was walking down the street. I wanted to go talk to her so bad. She saw me too. She started coming towards me, but Tonks apparated away. That's why I was so messed up when I got back. I just miss her so much. Plus, being in my house didn't really help much. At first I didn't want to go in because it was just too much, but once I got in there, I didn't want to leave. I felt like if I left I wouldn't ever get back, you know?"

"You'll get back. I know you will. It's only two years, then you can go back and do whatever you want."

"I know. It's just that looking down those two years makes it seem pretty long, don't you think?"

"Not really. You have to look at the big picture. Sure, two years seems pretty long now, but it's so short compared to your seventy plus years of life. I think you should live these two years like it's only two weeks. Put all your energy to make friends and then have fun; then after two weeks keep in touch with your friends and come visit and stuff."

"Wow. Are you sure you're still Matt, or have you become an old man?" He just laughed. I thought about what he said though. Even after we split up and I went into my room to pack up my things. I thought about trying to have fun at Hogwarts, and I thought about making sure I made good friends. I shut my trunk, leaving out clothes for the train ride, and climbed into bed with an all new determination.

Anything to keep my friends happy.


	7. Chapter 6

**Love's Worst Element**  
Chapter Six- Assumptions

The morning of September first was busy. Everyone was doing last minute packing and rushing around. It was rather difficult for me to move my trunk from my room down to the car outside, but halfway there one of the twins helped me. It was the first trunk into the Ministry vehicle.

I was just pulling together Sammy's things when Mrs. Weasley stopped me. "Kasiss, dear, I'm sorry, but you can't take your dog with you."

"What?"

"It's against school rules. I'm so sorry. If I could change the rules, you would get to keep her, but I don't. But Arthur and I will take very good care of her."

"Oh…" I said sadly, putting down the bed I was just about to shove into the bag. "Well… I guess if I had to leave her anywhere it would be here…" I walked forward, sitting down on the couch. Sammy laid down on my feet. I leaned forward and pet her.

"Alright, everyone! Let's get in the car! We've got to leave!" Mr. Weasley called through the house. Mrs. Weasley and I walked out to the front. Harry and Ron were carrying their trunks out behind us. Ginny and Hermione were already in one car. I jumped in next to them. Harry and Ron got into the seats in front of us, Mr. Weasley sliding in next to Ron. Mrs. Weasley took the front seat, and Tonks was driving.

Only Ro and Ginny talked to me after I fainted in Diagon Ally, so it was a surprise when Hermione said, "I like your shirt."

"Oh, thanks…" I said, looking down at the black lace over a cream camisole.

"Did you pack your wand?" she asked, looking for where I could have put it. I wasn't wearing a jacket like she was.

"No. It's up here." I pointed to my head. I had used it as a chopstick to keep my hair up in a bun. "It's a fairly convenient place. I can grab it real quick and it doesn't get in the way or anything. I don't like keeping it in pockets much. Plus, this looks cool." Hermione smiled.

The car was silent other than that short conversation. It was an hour's drive to Kings Cross train station in London. Tonks parked the car and everyone climbed out.

Kings Cross had high ceilings, and there were hundreds of people getting on and off of trains. I followed the experienced Hogwarts students up to the area between train number nine and ten. Mr. Weasley walked through the wall, then Ron, Harry, Ginny, and Hermione. I realized that I was next.

I had never walked through a wall before. I took a deep breath as Mrs. Weasley ushered me forward. "Just go straight at it. You'll be fine." With another breath, I walked—very quickly—at the wall.

A scarlet steam train was on the other side. I stared for a moment, but then continued forward. With help, I got my trunk lifted onto the train. I followed Harry and Ron and Hermione to a compartment after saying my goodbyes and thank yous to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Harry and I got the window seats. Hermione sat next to me, and Ron sat across from her. Ginny had gone off to sit with her friends, and Ro was either not on the train yet, or he was with someone else.

It was very quiet for a long time. When the train started moving, Hermione and Ron got up. "We've got to do prefect rounds…" Ron mumbled as they walked out the door.

"And then there were two," I said, staring out the window. Harry smiled. "So, I'm sorry I screamed your name the other day. I don't really know what I said it for. It just came out."

"It's fine," Harry said distantly.

"And then I fainted. That was embarrassing. I have this feeling that this is going to be the weirdest experience of my life." Harry nodded. "You're not very chatty, are you?" I asked.

"Not really in the mood, I suppose."

"Oh," I answered. There was another silence. "Okay, I'm dying here. You have to talk to me."

"Uh, okay. What do you want to talk about?"

"I don't know…" I started. "Tell me who's who in the world of Hogwarts." I pulled my legs up to sit criss-cross.

"Well…" Harry though. "There's Neville. He's a friend of ours. And Luna. She's kinda… odd."

"Sounds like my kind of person. Go on."

"Uh… Malfoy. We steer clear of him. He's not exactly the nicest person."

"Yes. I've heard. Fred and George want me to hate him. Should I?"

"Decide for yourself when you meet him," Harry said, a small smile on his face. "Those are the people we hang around the most. There's a lot more people, though, of course."

"God, you're accent is hot…" I sighed. I cupped my hands over my mouth after saying it.

"You think my accent is hot?" he asked, his a smile creeping up on his face.

"I didn't mean that…" I said, shaking my head.

"Then what did you mean? Because that's what you said." It was obvious Harry was having fun with this.

"I-I just meant that British accents are hot. I didn't mean yours in particular." I felt my face get red.

"Uh-huh," Harry said sarcastically. "Or maybe you think _I'm_ hot."

"Oh yes," I answered with a lisp, making me sound utterly stupid, but we both started laughing. "Yes, you're so hot! You're all sweet and sexy in my mind!" I said, keeping the lisp. "You're so sexy I could just lick you and kiss you all over." We were reaching hysterics because of our ruckus laughter.

"Yes!" Harry said. Through my giggles, I could hear he was also using a lisp. "You want to kiss my sexy self."

"Wow…" someone said. I looked over to see Ron and Hermione standing in the doorway.

"Hi," I squeaked through laughs.

"Were you two having an intimate conversation? Because we can leave…" Ron said, trying to suppress a smile.

"Oh, no. I was just expressing my physical desire for Harry. Feel free to come on in." Ron and Hermione stepped in, looking from me to Harry, their eyebrows raised in confusion.

"Are you not telling us something?" Hermione asked after she sat down next to me. I started laughing again.

"Yes, actually. We've tried to keep it a secret for so long, but it's not working out so well now." I took a dramatic pause. "I find Harry's accent hot and he thinks he's sexy. I'm sorry you had to find out this way."

"Right… Well…" Hermione started. "I'm going to get changed. Kasiss?" I stood up and rummaged through my trunk, finding the school uniform, then followed Hermione out to the bathroom. "Hey, Kasiss?" Hermione said from her stall.

"Yes?" I answered.

"Were you serious when you said you think Harry's sexy?" She sounded embarrassed to be asking. I paused before answering.

"I think so, yes. Why? You don't have your eyes on _him_ as well, do you?" I asked.

"What do you mean 'as well'?" We were both coming out. I felt odd in my uniform; I'd never had to wear one before. I had jean shorts on underneath, just so I didn't have to worry about my underwear showing.

"I mean that I think you have a crush on a certain Mr. Weasley." Hermione blushed bright red. "That's what I thought." I readjusted my bun, stabbing my wand back into it. We were on our way back to the compartment when someone stopped in front of us.

"Out of my way _Granger_," the boy said. He had bleach blonde hair. I recognized him from Diagon Ally, the one who had tripped me. Hermione glared at him, and didn't move. His attention turned to me. "Who are you?" he asked.

"Kasiss Cameron. You?" I said, looking between the boy and Hermione. She looked disgusted to be in his presence.

"Malfoy," the boy said. "Draco Malfoy. It's nice to meet you." He had a coy smile on his pale face.

"Oh, I believe we've met already. Diagon Ally, not too long ago. You tripped me. Yeah, you remember. Crazy colored hair? Yep, that's me." Malfoy's smile dropped.

"I'm genuinely sorry about that. Anyways, why don't you ditch your mudblood friend here and sit with us?"

"See, if this had happened two months ago, I would have thought you were rather interesting. Slicked back hair, a couple of sidekicks, something dangerous about you, you know?" I raised one eyebrow and bit my lip. "But this isn't two months ago, is it? No. See ya." I attempted to walk forward, but there was little room between the wall and Malfoy's friends. I sighed. "Hermione, you never told me how childish your classmates are."

"Childish?" Malfoy said.

"Yes. You know," I started, standing up straighter, my chest sticking out a little. "You'd be a lot more… desirable… if you weren't so childish. If you could just scooch over a teensy bit, I'd find you a lot more…" I moved my eyes from his face all the way down to his feet and back up again. "You know…" The ghost of a smile, or possibly a sneer, flitted across his face before he walked past me, his friends following.

"What the heck did you just do?" Hermione asked.

"I flirted my way into the heart of a man. Cruel isn't it? Especially since I find him quite disgusting. I don't suppose I'll ever do that again." I shuddered, grimacing at the thought of me flirting with scum.

"You know that was _Malfoy_ right?"

"Yes, I'm very well aware that that was Malfoy," I retorted as we entered the compartment.

"You met Malfoy?" Harry asked. Ron's fists clenched.

"Yes. It was quite pleasant, really. We formally introduced ourselves, I told him he tripped me, he apologized but I didn't believe it, I got him to move out of the way, no harm no foul."

"Oh… That's… odd…" Ron said, relaxing a little.

"Of course, I'll probably regret flirting with him after he's tried something, but that's easy to deal with…" I mumbled.

"You flirted with him?" asked Harry, his voice stiff.

"Yes. Nothing big. Just told him he'd be more desirable if he moved out of the way. He did. I lied. Whatever." I sat down and stared out the window, pulling my legs up onto the seat. I rested my head on the glass and let my eyes fall closed. I didn't sleep, but I wasn't exactly awake. I put my guard down completely, letting myself relax for the first time in weeks.

I must have dozed off at one point though, because I had a sort of dream. Lightening cracked down, the sound of thunder rolling in my head. The point of the lightening hit the ground and a fire started blazing, it's crackling flames licking up to the cloudy sky. Rain poured down on the fire, putting out the blaze. The wind picked up and the rain fell, getting more and more horizontal, until finally it looked like static on a television.

I opened my eyes to heavy rain outside, but it was so dark I couldn't see where we were. When I looked around I saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione talking quietly. The train felt like it was slowing, and in the distance I could see lights. It was another twenty minutes before the train came to a full stop. Hermione was the first up; she took her trunk from under her seat and waited for the rest of us. Once we all had our trunks out, we left them in the compartment. They were going to be delivered to our rooms while we were eating. When I got outside, I immediately spotted Ro. He walked toward me and wrapped his arms around me.

"Hey, Julie! How was your day?"

"Relatively good. Yours?"

"Just fine. We go this way," Ro directed me towards a very large man.

"By guys!" I called before walking with him. "How do _you_ know where we're going?"

"I asked."

"Wow… You're the smartest person I know," I joked. We stopped beside the large man. He was calling for all the first years to follow him before he headed down the path that sloped down, away from where the older students were going. Ro and I followed at the back.

"Three people per boat," the man said. "And try not to fall in the lake." Ro and I got a boat to ourselves; each one had an umbrella charm on it, keeping us dry. Once the last little first year was in a boat, the started moving forward. We rounded a bend and the castle came into view.

"Woah," I breathed. "That's intense." Ro laughed. "What?" I asked.

"You're probably the only one who said 'that's intense' about this castle," he answered.

"I'm sure _someone's_ said it before. It's not like I made up the word myself. And look at it! It's so intense!" I stared at the castle as it came closer and closer, and when the boats docked, I nearly fell of because I wasn't paying attention to where I was going.

"Try not to fall in the lake, Cameron!" Ro said jokingly, grabbing my arm.

"Shut up Rigard!" I said just as sarcastically. We followed the first years up to a door and entered last. There was a stern looking woman standing before us. She explained the four houses to the group, then ushered us to follow her. We walked into a large room with four long tables filled with students. At the front there was another long table. Teachers were sitting at it, smiling kindly to the first years. The ceiling reflected the rainy weather outside, water droplets falling half way down the room before evaporating into thin air.

Once in front of the room, our group stopped. Before us was an old tattered hat sitting on a stool. The stern looking woman held it up and began to read off of a list. "Cameron, Kasiss," she said. I took a deep breath before pushing past the first years and sitting on the stool. I felt silly when she put the hat on my head.

"Ah," a voice said in my ear. I realized it was the hat. "You are difficult indeed. I could place you in Ravenclaw, I see you are very intelligent. Of course there is your pure blood. And you are rare, too. Elementals don't come here often at all…" My eyebrows ran together. Elemental? But the hat distracted me. "Of course, there's a strong sense of bravery. I believe that overrules all the rest in your case. So…" the hat paused before shouting, "Gryffindor!" I sighed in relief. The woman took the hat off my head and I rushed to the Gryffindor table, which was cheering loudly. I sat next to Hermione, smiling broadly.

"That was the weirdest sensation ever," I said.

"What?"

"The hat was talking to me. It's not often one finds a talking inanimate object." She laughed. I turned my attention back to the sorting. Ro was now sitting on the stool, the hat on his head.

Finally it shouted, "Ravenclaw!" I sighed, dropping my head. "Dammit!" I said, pounding my fist on the table. A few people laughed, and I realized I said it louder than intended. My face flushed.

The rest of the first years were sorted, then Dumbledore waved his hand and food appeared on the table. "Okay, that was cool…" I mumbled. I reached out for salad, dropping it on my plate.

There wasn't much talk as people ate, and as the noise volume rose, the food disappeared and was replaced with cakes and cookies and other desserts. Ron reached out to grab a cookie and I broke a piece off his. He glared at me for a moment, then smiled.

The tables cleared again, and Dumbledore stood at the front of the room. "Another year beginning. To our new students, welcome, and to our old, welcome back. Mr. Filch has asked me to say that Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products are banned from school grounds.

"Those students wishing to play for their House Quidditch team should speak to their Heads of House. We are also looking for a new commentator, and those interested should also speak with their Heads.

"I'd like to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts master, Professor Darren," Dumbledore gestured behind him. A woman at the end of the table stood, a grin spread on her face. She waved lightly before sitting down again. "After classes Professor Darren will be holding meetings for those students year five and older who may not be going into a career concerning magic. The informational meeting is tomorrow after classes.

"So with that said, you're beds are waiting." Students stood and stretched, talking merrily with their friends.

"First year Gryffindors! Follow me, please!" Hermione called. She waited until she had the first year's attention before leading the way out the door.

"Am I supposed to follow you?" I asked.

"You can if you want. You'd have to wait until all of the first years have left if you don't."

"Well, I don't want to do that now, do I?" I followed Hermione like all the other first years.

"Be careful on the staircases," said Hermione as we approached a large string of stairs. "They move." I looked up to see a few sets of stairs changing their paths.

"Wow," I breathed. Some of the first years were chatting, but most remained silent. We came upon a portrait that was titled "The Fat Lady" according to the little plaque on the top of the frame.

"Password?" the Fat Lady said.

"Demiguise," Hermione answered, loud enough for the first years to hear. The frame swooped out of the way revealing a little hallway. We walked through, and the circular room that I walked into made me smile. It's deep red and gold furnishings made it feel warm and cozy. "Girls dormitories are upstairs and down to your left, boys to the right," instructed Hermione.

"It's homey in here," I commented.

"It is, isn't it? C'mon, lets find our rooms." Hermione climbed up the stairs, looking at the name plates on the doors. She found a door that said Cameron, Kasiss Granger, Hermione in gold letters. "Looks like we have a room to ourselves." We walked into another circular room. There were five beds in it, but only two had belongings next to them.

"I _should_ go to sleep…" I said, changing into my pajamas. I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth. "But I think I'll read a little…"

"Whatever. We have an early start tomorrow, remember," Hermione replied, sliding into her bed. She pulled the curtains closed. I rolled out my trunk and started hanging my uniform and 'Muggle attire' in the bureau. I put my shoes on the bottom and closed the doors. I dumped my other clothing into the chest of drawers, then put my photo albums and other paraphernalia in the drawer below. I had laid my shrunken guitar on the bed. I had asked Mrs. Weasley to shrink it so I could pack it away.

I pulled my wand from my hair, the bun falling limply down my back. "Engorgio," I said, the guitar growing to it's normal size. I slid it under my bed with my empty trunk. Instead of reading, I lay on my bed staring at the ceiling, the curtains closed around me. I didn't think a lot, my mind just blank. I didn't sleep, I didn't move. Just lay there, my muscles relaxed completely. I felt so safe here in this moment. I don't know how long it was before I finally closed my eyes, letting sleep roll over me.

I awoke the next morning to Hermione rushing around, putting books, supplies, a quill, and parchment into her bag. I brushed my teeth and drew on some eyeliner, then changed into my uniform. I brushed my hair and pulled it back into a bun, poking my wand into it. I had a big saggy purse I used as my bag. I threw my school supplies into it, stuck my pen into my hair the opposite direction of my wand, and made sure I had paper.

"Why do you use parchment and quills and ink?" I asked, spying a large roll of paper. "Why not use sheets of paper and pens?"

"Ink! That's what I'm forgetting!" Hermione said, setting an ink bottle carefully in her bag. "I don't know why we use it. This is just an old fashioned school I guess."

"Will teachers be mad at me if I use regular paper and pens?"

"I suggest you use parchment for essays, but as long as it's black ink and you use paper for notes, then I don't see what the problem would be."

"Good thing I prefer black ink then…" I mumbled, adjusting the strap on my bag. I suddenly felt very grumpy and groggy.

"Alright, Harry and Ron are already down at breakfast, but they're going to wait for us before they go to get their schedules from Professor McGonagall. I'm so excited for my schedule, aren't you?"

"Yeah, sure…" I replied. We walked to the Great Hall in silence. We sat with Harry and Ron who were talking animatedly about Quidditch. Hermione buttered a piece of toast and I smashed my head onto my arm.

"What's with her?" Ron asked. I lifted my head tiredly.

"I'm just tired, that's all… Didn't sleep much last night. Perhaps the jet lag is finally catching up with me." I kept my head up, trying to wake up.

"Alright," Hermione said. "We should go get our schedules." As the four of us walked out of the Great Hall I addressed Harry.

"Is she always this chipper in the morning?"

"Yes," he answered.

"Shoot me now…" I mumbled. Harry laughed. We reached what I assumed was Professor McGonagall's office and sat, waiting for someone else to get their schedule.

Harry went first and came out with a schedule and a Gryffindor Quidditch team captain badge. To Ron's dismay he only had Defense Against the Dark Arts with Harry. They both had three free periods every day, all at different times.

Hermione went in next. She had only one free period, one without Harry, and Defense Against the Dark Arts with Harry and Ron, and Transfiguration and Potions with Ron. I went next.

"Miss Cameron," McGonagall greeted. "I see you got Outstanding marks in Charms and Transfiguration. Would you like to continue to NEWT level with those classes?"

"I would," I said happily. Charms and Transfiguration were my favorite classes.

"And you got an Exceeds Expectations in Potions. Are you continuing there?"

"Yep."

"And Defense Against the Dark Arts… An Acceptable. You can continue with that," said McGonagall, looking up at me.

"And I will," I answered. I would have gotten an E or even an O if it weren't for the tester I had. She was asking me for things I'd never learnt, telling me to do my spells in my head, it was all very difficult.

"You can also move up in Herbology," McGonagall offered.

"No need for that."

"And History of Magic?"

"Nope."

"Very well, then," she said, taping her wand to a piece of parchment and handing it to me.

"Thank you," I replied, taking the paper from her hand. I was just about to leave when I remembered Quidditch. "Oh, Professor? I'm supposed to tell you if I want to be on the Quidditch team, right?"

"Yes. I'll put your name on the list."

"Thanks!" I said, mustering up a smile. I looked at my schedule. I had Defense with the other three, Potions and Transfiguration with Harry, and two free periods with Harry and one with Ron and Hermione.

"We'd better get to our classes," Hermione suggested, leading the way out of the office. I could hear the excitement in her voice. "I've got Ancient Runes first. I'll see you later!" She skipped down the stairs and took a right.

"I've got a free hour. See ya." He seemed less enthused. Probably because he was alone.

"Ready for hour one of potions?" I asked. Harry started walking down the flights of stairs.

"Why does it have to be the first class? As if I don't hate it enough, I have to endure it first thing?"

"Oh, shush. You'll do fine. You know why I say that?" I didn't let Harry answer. "Because I am quite good at the brewing of the potions and the doing of the homework."

"And you're assuming that we're sitting together?"

"Yes. Especially if you want to pass." Harry smiled. "So, as team captain, do you think I'll be good enough to make the team?"

"I dunno. I'll have to see what everyone else is like before I start choosing who I want on the team."

"But of course! You should see the competition before you pick me."

"You assume a lot, you know that?"

"I also assume that we're here," I said. We stopped walking and waited outside a door with other students.

"You assume correctly," replied Harry.

"I usually do." I reached up and adjusted the pen in my hair. A man with greasy black hair opened the door and all the students filed in, taking seats at the tables. Harry and I sat together. "Is that Snape?" I whispered.

"Yeah," Harry whispered back. Snape stood at the front of the class.

"This is an NEWT class. It will be much more difficult than what you have already gone through, and I expect some of you to fail." Snape's eyes lingered on Harry for a moment. "You will spend today taking these notes." Snape flicked his wand and the chalkboard filled with writing.

I pulled the pen out of my hair, feeling the bun loosen a little, and pulled a notebook out of my book bag. Though I had already taken these notes from past schooling—I was in Advanced Potion Making back at home—I made sure I kept my attention on them. Most people had just finished taking notes when the bell rang. Snape gave us an essay about the notes before excusing us.

"How'd you finish your notes so fast?" Harry asked once we were out of the dark room.

"I've done them before. I was in Advanced Potions. Plus, I didn't have to stick my pen in a vat of ink every few words." I stuck my pen back into my hair. "You have a free period right now, right?"

"Yeah," Harry said, checking his schedule.

"Could you show me to Charms? I'd get lost if you didn't."

"Yeah, sure." Harry and I walked in silence the whole way. "Here it is," said Harry, gesturing to the door.

"Thanks. You're a life saver. Have a fun break." I gave Harry a quick, slightly awkward hug. When I walked into the Charms classroom, I saw Ro sitting in one of the desks. I smiled and took a seat next to him.

"Kasiss! I couldn't find you after dinner last night! It sucks, doesn't it?"

"Heck no! You're a big fat smarty pants! You should be happy! Besides, don't you have friends in Ravenclaw?"

"Yeah, but still. I was hoping we would be in the same House." I shrugged. "Here, lemme see your class list." I handed Ro my list. "Well," he said, looking across both papers. "We've got fifth free together. That's right after lunch."

"Yeah? That's good." Professor Flitwick called the class to order then. Ro and I had already been through this lecture more or less. I nearly dozed through it, but fought to keep my eyes open.

Flitwick excused us without any homework after the bell rang. I threw an arm around Ro before walking up to the Gryffindor common room. Harry was sitting on the couch, staring into the fire. I dropped my bag on the ground and plopped down next to him. I dropped my head onto his shoulders. "Wake me when it's over, okay?" I said tiredly.

"Er- okay," he replied, shifting his body so I was leaning back onto him. I kicked my feet up onto the couch.

"You're rather comfortable," I told him.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yes." I didn't say anything else, letting sleep overcome me. I was gently awakened by Harry and I heard the faint bell outside the common room. I sat up and stretched. "God that was good…" I grumbled. "Have I told you you're comfortable?"

"Yes, actually," Harry replied. "You're not so bad yourself." I smiled. "We have Transfiguration next, right?"

"Yup. Shall we?" I picked up my bag and walked out the portrait hole.

"You weren't in an advanced Transfiguration class, were you?"

"No," I laughed. "Only Potions and Charms. Transfiguration is one of my favorites, but I'm not _that_ good at it. What's your favorite, Harry?" I asked.

His reply came quickly, "Defense."

"Ah. The dreaded Defense class."

"Dreaded?"

"I'm alright at Defense, it's just that I've had _really_ bad teachers. And the person that tested me on my OWLs was a moron… God I hated her. Anyways, I'm more of an offensive person." Harry laughed.

"I can't imagine you in a duel," he commented.

"I don't get into duels, that's why. I knock out my opponent before they have a chance to grab their wand. That's probably why I don't listen to my horrible teachers. I don't really think I need it. But, I suppose I'll start listening more, what with this being an NEWT class."

"I suppose you're right."

"You're getting the hang of this assuming thing, you know that? Don't get a big head over it, though. Assuming is a very bad thing when not done correctly. Never assume unless you know you're right."

"That ruins the point of assuming though, doesn't it?" Harry countered.

"Not really. I mean, I can know I'm right about something, but end up being wrong. The lesson is that if you assume something, but you're not sure of yourself, then you might as well not assume. You have to make the other person _think_ you know what you're talking about, even if you're assuming they ate a frog when in reality they didn't, if you can make them think they really did, then you have a weak spot."

"You're really into this assuming thing, aren't you?"

"I've just assumed so much in my life, I can't really not think about assuming things. Is it bothering you? Because I can stop—"

"No it's fine. It's kinda cute, actually." I blushed. Harry thought my assumptions were cute. "Not in the sense of attractive cute, though," Harry defended, his face a little pink when I looked up at him. "Cute like ha-ha-that's-funny cute." I blushed again.

"Is it that you think my assumptions are cute, or you think _I'm_ cute?" I said. Harry remembered our conversation on the train yesterday. "Oh yes," he started, lisping again. "So cute!" I started laughing.

When I was with Harry—and Ron and Hermione for that matter—it was like my past was just a past, and not my present and future. It was like it wouldn't haunt me for the rest of my days, at least not in the way I thought it would. They made me smile when I didn't really want to, and they made me laugh like I hadn't done in so long, even before everything started.

I made another assumption, putting my whole heart in it. For the most part, life is good.


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Okay all! So I updated Chapter 6 and Chapter 7 tonight! *applauds self* I know, I know. You can thank me later. :) *singing* Announcements, announcements, anAAAAAAouncements. Okay, I'll quit making your ears bleed. I looked at my stats and OH MY DEAR LORD! You people make me sooo happy! I had TONS of people from ALL OVER THE WORLD! Yaaaaaaaaaay! *happy dance* Hoooooowever... I have no reviews. Soooo that kinda killed my happy. But oooooh well. I guess that means the next chapter will be all saaaaaaaaad and stufffffff... JUST KIDDING! I wouldn't blackmail y'all like that. I already have it written anyways. Chapter _nine_, though... JUST KIDDING DON'T KILL ME! Okay, anyways, as for the normal stuff, I don't own Harry Potter or anything about it except my pretty copies of the books and the various merchandice that I purchaced. Read and Review please! I love it when people review me, and if I start writing faster, I might start giving y'all teasers if you review. Not this time, but in the near future _perhaps_. Anyways, enjoy!

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**Love's Worst Element**  
Chapter Seven- Awakening

I spend about fifty percent of my pre-show time warming up. Twenty-five percent goes to breathing and calming my nerves. Twenty percent of the time is spent stretching, whether or not I do any running or jumping or other erratic activity. The remaining five percent is in the remaining two minutes.

"Matt, Kasiss, you have two minutes until you go on," Lacy Darren told us. I sucked in another breath, puffed out my cheeks, and pushed out the air, dropping my hands to my sides. I wrapped arms around my torso, my eyes widening.

"God, Ro, two minutes…" I moaned. "Why the hell did you make me do this?"

"_Make_ you?" he clarified. "I didn't _make_ you do anything." Ro was always crabby before each show.

"You got me into this. I think I'm going to puke. I'm so nervous…" I dropped to the stone floor and rested my head against the cold wall. "Dear Lord Almighty, have mercy on my soul."

"What soul? You blame innocent people. You and you're assumptions…" Ro mumbled.

"Exc_use_ me? _I_ have no soul? You got me into this mess. That's proof enough that _you_ have no soul."

"I just gave you a simple suggestion. Don't try and put this on me. Besides, you were all for it."

"Yeah, after you pushed me. You're so controlling, Mathew." I stood and glared up at Ro.

"Why do you always do this right before a show?" he asked, aggravated.

"You provoke me! Maybe I just won't do the show. You'll be up there singing on your own." I started walking away. When I slammed the door behind me, I sighed and brushed my hair out of my face.

The two minutes were up. I walked back in the door and gave Ro a hug. "Sorry. I'm just being stupid. You're right. I have no soul."

"You're wrong. You do have a soul. You just don't use it all the time. But I forgive you."

"Good."

"Kasiss, I want to tell you something—" Ro started, nervously running a hand through his hair.

"C'mon you two, it's time," Lacy said, leading us to the front of her classroom. She had told us to call her by her first name when we weren't in Dark Arts class. "I really appreciate you doing this, by the way. I think it'll be a really good opening for this. I'm so excited, too. I've never taught anything before, and so when Professor Dumbledore came and asked me to teach, I was totally up for it." Lacy was easily the youngest teacher at Hogwarts, and she was very laid back, as any twenty-something-year-old would be.

"It's our pleasure. We love stuff like this," said Ro.

"_You_ love stuff like this…" I breathed. Lacy called the attention of fifty or so people.

"Hey everyone! I'm so excited that you came today. This group, as you may or may not know, is going to give you time to work on skills that Hogwarts doesn't really have a class for, like singing, dancing, writing, etcetera. It's Monday through Friday at four o'clock-ish, you don't necessarily have to be on time. You don't have to be wearing your uniform, either; you can wear pjs for all I care.

"However, to show me that you are actually being productive, every other Saturday there are performances or readings or whatever. Meaning you come up to the front—I'll have a stage next time—and you do whatever it is you do. To demonstrate and kick off our first little thing here, we have Kasiss Cameron and Matt Rigard singing for us." I took a deep breath, silently cursing Ro for this torture, and stepped forward. Ro took my hand. "I would tell you they're amazing, but I've never heard them, so…" Lacy lifted her hands and shrugged before walking off to the side.

I saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione standing against the back wall, and it encouraged me; I took another breath and started the song, using my softest, most elegant voice. _"I pray you'll be our eyes, and watch us where we go, and help us to be wise in times when we don't know. Let this be our prayer as we go our way. Lead us to a place, guide us with your grace to a place where we'll be safe."_

Matt started in on his perfect Italian, _"La luce che tu dai." _

_"I pray we'll find your light,"_ I echoed in English.

_"Nel cuore restera." _

_"And hold it in our hearts." _

_"A ricordarci che." _

_"When stars go out each night." _

_"L'eterna stella sei."_ I lead into the next line with an _ah. "Nella mia preghiera,"_ he continued. I could tell he was trying not to smile—I always over dramatized on this song.

_"Let this be our prayer." _

_"Quanta fede c'e." _

_"When shadows fill our day." _

_"Lead us to a place,"_ Ro sang, finally in English.

_"Guide us with your grace."_

We both sang this part, our voices forming together in perfect harmony, _"Give us faith so we'll be safe. Sogniamo un mondo senza piu violenza, un mondo di giustizia e di speranza. Ognuno dia la mano al suo vicino, simbolo di pace e di fraternita."_ I _ahh_ed again, still being overdramatic. Ro took off on his part, again forcing back laughter.

_"La forza che ci dai," _

_"We ask that life be kind," _

_"E'il desiderio che," _

_"And watch us from above." _

_"Ognuno trovi amore," _

_"We hope each soul will find," _

_"Intorno e dentro a se," _

_"Another soul to love."_

Our voices melded together again, _"Let this be our prayer."_ I echoed the phrase.

_"Just like every child,"_ Ro sang, with me echoing again. We closed in harmony. _"Needs to find a place. Guide us with your grace, give us faith so we'll be safe. E la fede che, hai acceso in noi—"_ we crecendoed, then dropped our voices to the softest soft there was. _"Sento che ci salvera."_ Ro held the last note, and I kept bringing it higher and higher. That's how it was written in the music we no longer needed, but every time it was like I was just doing it for fun. When the note was held for it's full length and we remained silent for a few seconds, the group of our classmates cheered. I threw my head back and started laughing, holding my stomach self-consciously. The reason I did things like this was the aftermath. Always a thrill, like winning the big game, or getting that main role in the play.

Hermione came forward and hugged me saying, "That was great! You're voice is so beautiful!" She moved onto Matt. They weren't exactly friends, so there was less hugging. Ron congratulated me, pink rising in his cheeks a little. He turned and spoke to Dean Thomas after that, who was standing with Ginny. Harry looked at the floor, his hands in his pockets. My high was still rushing through my blood. I ended up hugging him through my excitement.

The weirdest part of this hug was that our faces crashed together.

Even weirder than that: neither of us pulled back in surprise; rather, we used the close proximity.

And then it was over, and we were staring at each other, confused looks on our faces. _What the hell was that?_ I wanted to ask.

Of course, being the moron that I am, I answered my unspoken question out loud. "I just kissed Harry Potter…" Only the boy in question heard me, and it seemed that no one saw our faces mashed together. "You have _got_ to be kidding me."

Lacy said something, but I was too distracted to listen. Harry's eyes were locked with mine. Hermione was tapping him on the shoulder a moment later. "Harry, c'mon. We've got to clear out. Professor Darren has a meeting or something." Harry turned, not saying another word to me. I picked up my book bag and was just about to follow the last crowd out when Lacy called my name.

"Yeah?" I replied, turning to her. My eyes were wider than usual, as I was still dazed.

"Are you alright?" she asked, flipping her light auburn hair around her shoulder; she had a concerned look on her face.

I stuttered for a while, trying to find the right words. "Psh… Beyond alright!" I finally exclaimed. "I'm ecstatic!"

"Yeah? So you like Harry?" Lacy asked, smiling like she was a high school girl hearing about the latest gossip. My smile dropped a little.

Obviously I liked Harry, but really? Did I like him enough to kiss him? Well, duh. That ship was sailed. "A little, I suppose…" I sighed loudly. "So, did you need to tell me something?"

"Oh, yeah. You did great today, by the way." I smiled politely before Lacy continued. "So, Dumbledore asked me to come teach here when I was back in New York, and I agreed. Duh. Anyways, the main reason he asked for _me_ is because of my specialty. So first, I have to ask you to do something real fast."

"What?" I asked. Did she absolutely have to have the mystery and intrigue?

"This could hurt a little, and I'm really sorry, but it needs to be done. So—if you could close your eyes and think of something really sad—" My mind flooded with nearly all of my memories "—and then change to something really happy. Like Harry, or something." Harry's face faded into my mind. Lacy gasped and my eyes flashed open.

Lacy was sitting cross legged on her desk, her eyes wide and sparkling with excitement. In her hands was a purplish-black orb that was flashing with sporadic bursts of lightening. "You like storms?" she asked, her smile practically blinding.

"Uh, yeah?" I answered.

"Yes!" she shouted, jumping up from her desk. Lacy gestured for me to come forward, and as soon as I did she placed the orb in my hands and the lightening went crazy—the orb vibrated in my hands.

"What is this?" I asked. Lacy seemed so excited over this freakish crystal ball.

"Oh, that's just an little trinket I charmed to detect Elementals. Turns out that Dumbledore's suspicions were right, and you are _so_ an Elemental. God! This is such a thrill!"

"I'm sorry… I'm a what?"

"Kasiss, you're an Elemental. They are very rare, and hard to control when they know what they are. I've been studying these people for a long time, and I've only ever met one. The thing is, now that you consciously know what you are, it's going to go a little crazy. So I'm thinking we should get together a few evenings each week, just so that you learn to control your emotions and get a handle on this whole thing. Does that sound okay?"

Through Lacy's whole speech, I chewing on the inside of my cheek. She had to be kidding, but the lightening was still raging on in the little orb in my hands. That had to be some proof. "Uh, sure, I guess. I still don't understand, though? Why me? Why now?"

"I'm sorry. I know you must've gone through a tough time these past few weeks, but if you didn't find out soon, you would've subconsciously started an earthquake or a massive thunderstorm over the whole world or something. So I'll let you get to dinner now, but after dinner on Tuesdays and Thursdays?"

"Sure. So, anything else?" I started backing out of the room. Honestly, did the world hate me so much as to put me through my family dying _and_ finding out I have a freakish superpower?

"Oh, uh… Don't get to emotional over the next few days, okay?" Lacy suggested. I didn't bother asking why. I just nodded my head and walked out of the room, heading for the Great Hall; dinner was starting soon.

I entered a few minutes late, so heads turned when I opened the door; my face flushed red. Could they tell I was a freak? That I could control the world if I put my mind to it? Was there a difference in atmosphere when I entered the room? Surely not.

I crossed the room and sat in the empty bench next to Hermione. No one seemed to know my new secret. That was good.

"Hi Hermione, Ron… Harry." My face flushed again when I said Harry's name. He nodded in my general direction and filled his mouth with something off his plate. Hermione glanced between us for a moment, but said nothing. The rest of dinner was a lot of small talk. By the time we were heading up to the dorms, I had talked about the weather, Quidditch (which I didn't mind so much), the first day of classes, more school stuff, more weather, and even more school stuff. I wanted to shoot myself.

When Hermione and I ambled up to our room, she immediately started talking. "Why were you late to supper? What went on with you and Harry earlier today? Why won't he talk to you? Why aren't you talking to _him?"_

"Whoa, Hermione, calm down," I said in reply.

"What? I'm curious! You two are always so… I don't know… _comfortable_ around each other. You seem so awkward around him now."

"We kissed," I blurted out. Hermione started at me for a moment. I half expected her to explode in one way or another. She didn't. "Me and Harry. Harry and I. Kasiss Cameron and Harry Potter."

"I know who you're talking about!" she interrupted. "But I don't understand. When? Where?"

"After Ro and I sang. Oh, God, Ro. What do I _do?_ It'll be like _dumping_ him all over again!" I cried, falling onto my bed.

"You aren't with him now, though, are you?"

"No, but… Okay, Ro and I have a weird relationship. We're so close, and we know everything about each other, so of course we got together as a couple. But I broke up with him—sort of—at my cousin's wedding, and I didn't see him again until he came to the Burrow, where I apologized and I think we're kinda-sorta-not-really together.

"But _now_ I'm really liking the idea of Harry, but I've broken Ro's heart so much…" I wailed.

"I think you should go with your gut," Hermione said.

"Gee, that's helpful."

"Sorry! I'm not good at this sort of stuff!"

"I need Christine…" I pouted in silence for a while, while Hermione scratched away on a piece of parchment. "Okay… I guess I'll just have to tell Ro… I feel so crappy right now…"

"When?"

"When what?"

"When are you going to tell him?"

"I guess tomorrow in class. I'm going to go out, alright?" I reached under my bed and pulled out the old acoustic guitar.

"But it's after hours. You'll get caught," Hermione warned as I opened the door and stepped out of the dorm room.

"As long as a certain prefect doesn't turn me in. And she won't, because then she'd have to go wander the corridors. I'll see you soon, alright?" And I left, my guitar in tow. Was it even in tune? I wondered, following the soft hooting of owls. I took a seat on narrow winding stairs and unclasped the metal latches on the black case.

The face of my mother's guitar was light wood, nearly white. It had a glistening sheen to it that made it look like little diamonds were implanted in it. The back was pink and had a big smiley face painted on it. It was a lot like my mother, herself. She was a little glamorous, but otherwise perfect to the public's eye, but at home she was erratic and silly, like any best friend would be. I missed her. I missed my dad, too. He was always crazy, even with company. But, unlike my mother, he was strict. He understood, though, so it wasn't "You're grounded" but "You're grounded until you apologize." And that was easy to live with. Dad was more sensible than Mom.

I had started strumming on the guitar, tuning it as best as I could by ear. _"I said, I wanna touch the earth, I wanna break it in my hands, I wanna grow something wild and unruly. I wanna sleep on the hard ground in the comfort of your arms, on a pillow of blue bonnets and a blanket made of stars. Oh, it sounds good to me."_ I sang and strummed at the same time, imagining the drum and violin. I reminisced about the time David had dressed up as a cowboy. He was so annoying, but it gave me the inspiration to learn this song.

_"I said, cowboy take me away. Fly this girl as high as you can into the wild blue. Set me free, oh, I pray. Closer to heaven above and closer to you, closer to you."_ It was never a sad some before now, and I hadn't thought about it. I'd learned the song so well that I didn't have to think about the lyrics, I just moved my mouth.

Tears welled up in my eyes and I had to put the guitar back so I didn't drop it in one of my convulsive sobs. I was suddenly angry. How could they leave me? _How could they?_ On my birthday, no less. I stood and pounded my fist against the nearest window; it shattered beneath the force. I'd never been sporadically violent—it was always deliberate. This was different.

A cool breeze was coming in from the broken window, now, and it was almost like a voice calling to me. I could hear the owls screeching loudly as the wind picked up. I remembered what Lacy said about not getting too emotional. Was violence what she meant?

It was just a moment later that I lost all control of myself. I pulled myself into the windowsill—was I even strong enough to do that?—and jumped out, landing (miraculously) on my feet. The wind and rain were coming from every direction, it seemed, and it was bone chilling. Lightening struck down near me. It looked like the orb Lacy showed me. Thunder clapped and the elements continued to storm around me. I couldn't feel the ground under me anymore, and I heard screams coming from somewhere nearby. Some sort of rope tangled around me—I tried to force it off, but it only got tighter; I could feel it digging into my neck, strangling me. I had no oxygen.

Someone was shouting, but the voice was so far away. I wanted to know who it was; it seemed very familiar. He seemed angry—or was it worried? Why was he yelling? I couldn't find my eyes to find the source of the voice.

After a while, the voice went away, and I was left in silence again. I didn't like the quiet; I felt dead. Maybe I was dead. If I tried really hard, I could remember breaking a window. Did I jump out of the window? I did. Oh, God, I committed suicide. Oh no… What would my friends do? What about Christine? She would _die_ if I were dead. Didn't I think about the consequences of suicide?

There was whispering going on now. Shouldn't death be silent? Or at least happy. I should be with my family if I were dead. Unless I was in hell…

"Read this," a girls voice said. There was a little shuffling, and it was quiet again.

"It says she can't control herself," a second voice whispered. After a pause, he spoke again. "Do we tell Harry? You're sure she's a…"

"Yes, Ron, I'm sure. We should let her tell him when she wants to." Ron? So the girl must be Hermione. Where was Harry? And Matt? Were Ron and Hermione dead too? I should hope not… I had to open my eyes. I fought as hard as I could to reach the surface. Finally, my eyes were opened.


End file.
